


The Hidden Staircase

by Aurora_Mandeville



Series: Nancy Drew (Retelling) [2]
Category: Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: Flora Turnbull, Gen, Hidden Staircase, Rosemary Hayes, The power of friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:26:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 54,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22485547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurora_Mandeville/pseuds/Aurora_Mandeville
Summary: Nancy finds that she's not finished helping out the Crandall family as Emily's grandmother and her sister, Helen's grandmother, have been getting a rather suspicious haunting at their house lately. The suspicions change from a ghost to a real man when jewelry is stolen and they ask Carson for help. He sends Nancy to unmask the ghost, only for Nancy to put them both in danger the more she digs.
Relationships: Friendships - Relationship
Series: Nancy Drew (Retelling) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1122996
Kudos: 1





	1. Urgent Call

“All hail the conquering hero!” sang Helen Corning the instant she walked in the door. Nancy Drew lifted her head back and laughed.   
“Don't tease me, Helen!”  
“Oh come on Nance! You sent a family of crooks to jail and recovered Josiah Crowley's will! Who's not to be impressed by it?” Helen leaned forward. “I do believe a certain Hardy is really impressed.”  
Nancy blushed slightly. “Helen, knock it off! The others are going to be here . . .”  
“Nancy, Helen! Hi!” The newcomer was Emily Crandall, Helen’s second cousin and a friend of both girls. She was flanked by their newest friends, Ida and Isabel, nicknamed Izzy, Topham. Nancy had helped them retrieve what was rightfully theirs from a family of imposters and thieves and they couldn't stop singing her praises.   
“Good timing,” Nancy muttered under her breath. She waved and said more loudly, “Glad you could make it!” The girls were meeting Nancy at her house for a sleepover. She hugged each of them as they entered the house followed by a sniff-down by Togo, Nancy’s new puppy. Nancy noted with pleasure how good he was acting as she introduced the girls to him, but attributed it to him being excited about meeting new people than anything else.   
“Us, miss this, are you kidding? Not for the world!” exclaimed Ida as she flipped her dark, curly hair.   
Izzy laughed as she bent down and patted Togo for a bit. “Ida wouldn't stop talking about it!”   
“And why not? We get to spend the night with our brand new friends and the wonderful Nancy Drew!”  
Nancy waved her hand. “Oh come on, I had loads of help, you know that!”  
“Plus, we might get to see pictures of these pen pals of yours,” said Ida, giving a sly wink.   
Nancy glanced at Helen. “You told them?”  
Izzy scoffed. “Girl, she didn't have to. We can see it all over your face when you talk about them, even now.”   
Nancy put her hands on her face. “Oh man, I thought I was better at keeping things secret!”   
“Apparently not everything,” said Izzy. The girls burst out laughing.  
“Oh alright, let's head up to my room and I’ll tell you about all of my pen pals.”   
“Oh, there are more?” asked Ida as the girls grabbed their backpacks and followed Nancy to her room.   
Helen let out a sad sigh. “Yeah, it's just . . . well, two of them had to deal with the same tragedy you four have had, though, both parents in a plane crash.” They gasped and expressed condolences.   
Nancy nodded. “Yeah, they're going through a lot. They told me they would contact me once they got their heads above the water. That was about a year ago.”  
Emily sighed as a tear fell from her eye. “Yeah, I can totally relate.”   
Ida wrapped an arm around her. “Of course you can. I just hope they have wonderful friends and family helping them through this and no imposters. Especially incompetent imposters. What kind of imposter is incompetent?”   
Emily chuckled. “The really bad kind.” The girls laughed.   
“Oh, your room is so cute!” said Ida when Nancy led them into her room.   
“And it's bigger than I thought it would be,” said Emily.  
Nancy beamed. “Thanks! Though it's nowhere near as big as your rooms at Riverview.”   
Emily chuckled. “I don't think there are many rooms in River Heights as big as our rooms. There's more room there than I know what to do with!”   
“But other than that, you're adjusting well to the new arrangements?” The girls set down their bags.   
Emily nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes! Judy's just having a blast with all the space!” Not long after Nancy uncovered the will for Josiah Crowley than Richard Topham invited Emily, her guardian Jane Willoughby, and the Turners to live with them at Riverview Manor. The Turners and Jane would continue working at Lilac Inn, but they wouldn't have to worry about little Judy, who had just about everyone wrapped around her little finger.  
Nancy smiled widely. “That's fantastic! Oh, I’m so glad to hear everything is going well!”   
“And why shouldn't it? You and your family helped us a lot!” said Ida.   
“Speaking of,” said Helen, “your uncle's already gone?”  
Nancy nodded. “Yeah, another case.”  
“Just like the Hardys?” asked Helen.  
Nancy nodded, excited. “Yeah, can't wait to start on my second one too!”  
“But you just solved a mystery!” said Ida. “Don't you want a bit more of a break?” Emily and Helen laughed.   
“You just don't know Nancy that well,” said Emily.  
“Oh no, she's not happy unless she's working on a puzzle. And now that she's solved her first real mystery, she's going to want more,” explained Helen.   
Izzy chuckled. “Looks like there's still a lot to learn.”   
“Speaking of learning,” said Ida, “may we learn more about these handsome pen pals of yours?”   
Nancy laughed. “Oh my word, you're as bad as Bess.” But she obliged, bringing out the pictures and told them everything about Frank and Joe Hardy. She also told them the little bit that she knew about their friends.   
“Man, we should have moved to Bayport,” said Ida.   
“We haven't started school yet, knucklehead, there's bound to be some cute guys there.”   
“Speaking of, we’re good friends with some, we can invite them over and introduce you,” said Helen.  
“Oh, that would be great!” said Ida.   
Izzy chuckled. “Well, you just made her day.”   
“My day was made when Nancy showed us pictures of some handsome young men.” She glanced at Nancy. “Girl, you know some cuties!”   
“I know, right?” said Helen. “Maybe they know other cuties and she can convince them to introduce us to them one of these days.”  
Nancy blushed in spite of herself. “Well, that's all up if we have a chance at meeting them.”   
“Oh speaking of!” exclaimed Helen. “I have some news about my pen pal, Katherine Kovna!”   
The girls looked at her expectantly. “Really?”   
Helen nodded. “She’s from this tiny country in Europe called Centrovia, well, that’s the English way of saying it. I can’t quite pronounce the actual name properly, but hopefully by the time she’s left I will be able to!”   
“But what’s the news?” asked Emily.   
Helen’s eyes sparkled. “She and her family are coming for a visit in a couple of weeks!” The girls gasped.   
“That’s wonderful, Helen!” exclaimed Nancy.   
Helen bobbed her head with excitement. “Isn’t it? Oh, I can’t wait to see her for real! Well, the plan is that Katherine, her younger sister, and her mother are going to come out here first, her father and her uncle will be coming a couple of days afterwards. Apparently they had to finish up a few business matters before coming out here.”   
Nancy nodded. “That’s understandable.”   
Ida clasped her hands. “Oh, but this is wonderful! We’ll be getting to meet real Europeans! And some cute guys! This is going to be the best summer ever!” The girls laughed.   
“You know, maybe they can stay at Lilac Inn!” exclaimed Emily. “Or, did you already have other plans?”   
“Actually, we don’t. I think they’ll like it!” said Helen.   
Izzy stood up. “Well then, guess we had better make some plans then, huh? We need to come up with a list of things to do and show them around in River Heights!” She grinned at Ida. “A good way for us to get acquainted with the town ourselves.”   
“You are absolutely right,” said Emily. “This is going to be so much fun!”   
Nancy turned to Helen. “What do you think we should show them in particular?”   
“Well . . .” They were interrupted by two things, Togo’s sudden burst of barking and Helen's phone ringing.   
“Now who could that be?” asked Emily as Helen went to answer it. Nancy went downstairs to check on Togo and found he was barking with excitement. She gasped and smiled.  
“Dad! You're home early!” she said when her father walked in. She greeted him with a warm hug as Togo walked around them, wagging his tail.   
He looked at her with a smile. “Yeah, had to take work home, so I figured on getting back early.” He bent down and petted Togo.   
“May I ask why?” asked Nancy slowly, watching his face closely for any cues to see if it was bad or not.   
Carson noticed her scrutinizing look and huffed. “Well,” he began, but then paused and glanced up the stairs. “Emily and Helen are here, right?”   
Nancy nodded. “Yes.”   
Carson looked at his daughter. “Well, their grandmothers asked me to take on their case.”   
Nancy glanced between the stairs and her father, surprised. “Their grandmothers asked you to take on their case?”   
Carson nodded. “And I’m going to need your help. I have another case I have to concentrate on as well.”   
“I’d be happy to help in any way I can!”   
Carson smiled. “Great! I’ll tell you more later.” He glanced around the house. “Now, where did Hannah run off to?”   
Nancy laughed. “You're just now noticing she's gone?”   
He eyed her. “I'm just now getting to it.”   
Nancy grinned. “She went out to get a few surprises for dessert.”   
“Ah, “ he said before four pairs of feet came dashing down the stairs.  
“Oh, Mr. Drew, thank goodness you’re here!” exclaimed Helen. She had a phone to her ear and a worried expression on her face.   
“Helen, what's wrong?” asked Nancy as Carson quickly pulled out his phone. His eyes bulged before pocketing it and turning to Helen.  
“Helen, give me the phone,” he said. Heen handed over to him. “Hello, Miss Flora? No, I’m sorry, I was just talking to Nancy.” He nodded. “Yes, I know, I was going to look at your paperwork and get back to you on that.” He walked towards his office. “As a matter of fact, let me pull it out real quick and I can tell you.”   
Nancy turned to Helen. “What was that all about?”   
Helen bit her lip. “I-I don't know. They just called me and asked me if your dad was here. They’ve been trying to get a hold of him for the past few minutes!” The five glanced at Carson's office door.  
“Do you think everything is alright?” asked Emily.  
Nancy shrugged. “I don't know, I don't even know what’s going on.” She glanced at Emily and Helen. “Do you know?”  
Helen's eyes widened. “No! This is the first time I've heard that they were in need of help!”  
“I wonder why they wouldn't let us know?” said Emily.   
Nancy put a reassuring arm around her. “Maybe because they didn't want you to worry, what with everything that was going on with Josiah's will.”   
“Well you’ve found it,” said Ida, “maybe they'll tell you now what's going on.”   
“I hope so,” said Emily.   
“Nancy!” The five jumped at Carson's call.   
“Coming!” said Nancy as she walked into the office. The others followed, pausing at the office door.   
He nodded at them. “You can come in too, I think it's time their family knew.” Emily and Helen immediately went to sit in the chairs facing Carson's desk. Carson handed Helen's phone back to her.  
“Oh, if it's money issues, I can help!” said Emily.  
Carson held up his hand. “Allow me to explain exactly what it is that's going on, then I'll let you decide exactly what you think you can do to help.” He folded his hands and cleared his throat. “For the past week, Mrs. Flora Turnbull and Mrs. Rosemary Hayes have been pestered by a man named Nathan Gomber about selling their property to his bosses, some land developers. I’ve found out they were interested in Lilac Inn as well, but business is booming so they're leaving it alone. He’s staying there, in fact, and the Turners and Jane have given me all they know about him.”   
Emily's mouth dropped. “They what?”   
“And so he’s taken to trying to bully Grandma and Aunt Flora out of their house?” asked Helen, her voice rising to an almost shrill screech.   
Carson raised both his hands. “I wouldn't have used that word, but after what's been happening . . . “  
“Oh Mr. Drew, please tell us!” begged Emily.  
He let out a huff. “Apparently now Twin Elms seems to be haunted.”   
“Haunted!”  
Emily blanched. “Wh-what do you m-mean by it’s haunted?”   
“Seems to be,” said Carson, putting extra emphasis on the words. “Things have moved around inexplicably, strange sounds can be heard, and . . . here's the kicker, jewelry has gone missing.” The girls blinked at him as the corners of his mouth twitched.   
“Just jewelry?” asked Nancy. Carson nodded.  
“Wait, what?” exclaimed Ida. She glanced at Emily. “What is it with your ghosts nowadays? Can't even get a real one? Lame!” They laughed, the joke breaking the tension.   
“Oh man, I hate laughing at this while your grandmothers seem to be just done with it, but yes, a 'ghost’ has been stealing jewelry.” Carson stopped laughing and sighed. “But that's just the other half, one that maybe you girls can take care of given your most recent success.”   
“You mean Nancy's most recent success?” said Helen with a proud smile at her friend.   
Carson laughed. “You all definitely had a hand in it, so you deserve some praise. But yes, if you can handle that angle, I’ll take care of Gomber and the developers. For the most part, anyway. Gomber has apparently gone over to Twin Elms to talk to them about it a couple of times, reason with them, as he put it.”   
“What?” blurted both Emily and Helen.  
“What's this Gomber like?” asked Nancy.   
“Pretty ruthless, mean-spirited, and petty if you ask me.”   
“What does he look like?”   
“Well, he’s hard to miss, he’s about my height, a receding hairline, sandy blond hair, brown eyes, a jade earring on his left ear, and a spider tattooed on his left wrist. He does act pretty suspiciously for someone who works for land developers, but I guess that's to be expected if they're desperate to get what they want.”   
“What exactly do these land developers want the land for?” asked Emily.  
Carson shrugged. “Apartment complexes from what I’ve gathered.”   
“But why at Twin Elms?” asked Helen. “That’s one of the furthest places from town!”   
“That’s what I’m looking into. I can’t find much about them or their plans outside of that Nathan Gomber works for them and someone by the name of Willie Wharton owns the company. That’s all I’ve found so far, but I’ll keep digging.”   
“You know,” said Nancy slowly, “they could be a fake company.”   
Carson nodded. “That had crossed my mind, yes. But so far it’s acting like a real company, and I have to proceed as if it is until we have proof it’s not.”   
“If it is a scam, it sounds pretty well planned,” said Izzy.   
“But what exactly would they get out of it if it is a scam?” asked Ida.   
Carson shrugged. “They buy homes cheap and sell them to the highest bidder before disappearing with the money, at least that’s what I figured it would be. But again, until we have solid proof stating otherwise, they could get away with it.”   
Nancy crossed her arms. “Well, I guess I know what we’re going to be discussing tonight. And it sounds like we’re going to have to have all our wits about us if we’re going to find any loopholes or clues as to what’s really going on with Nathan Gomber, Willie Wharton, and Twin Elms.”


	2. An Unpleasant Visitor

“I vote that we stay at Twin Elms!” said Emily.   
“I second that!” said Helen.   
Ida bounced up and down. “Oooh, I want to go! This could be an extended sleep-over!”   
Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’d better come prepared then.” But then she smirked. “But that ‘ghost’ better beware, I’m coming prepared to catch him too!”   
Nancy laughed. “You hear that Dad? We have our own little band of Ghostbusters!”   
Carson chuckled. “Ghosts for miles around better beware! But I would feel better if you had a few others you can call in case of emergencies.”   
“Well, there is still Jenny, who couldn’t make it tonight because of other plans,” said Nancy. “And Don and Richie and their friends are always willing to help.”   
“And Nancy does have Frank’s and Joe’s numbers, she can call them if she needs any help they can give,” said Helen slyly.   
Carson glanced in surprise at Nancy for a moment before he brightened and nodded. “Well good then, I’m glad you have a fantastic team you have there. It’s always good to have people you can trust watching your back.”   
Ida wrapped her arms around Nancy's neck. “And with everything she's done for us, how could we not have her back?”   
Carson grinned. “Right?” Togo began barking as the doorbell echoed throughout the house. Carson stood up. “That might be Hannah, trying to carry everything in at once.” Nancy nodded with a chuckle as she too got up and followed her father out. But she paused after shooing Togo outside. This was a different kind of bark than what he announced Hannah's arrival with.   
She quickly walked towards her father's side. “Um, Dad?” He had opened the door by this time and they saw that it most certainly wasn't Hannah Gruen standing there. Carson narrowed his eyes.   
“What do you want, Mr. Gomber?” There stood the man Carson had just been describing to Nancy. Nancy disliked him at once, his shifty eyes was enough of a red flag, but she was getting others. She was glad her father and her friends were there with her. She didn't want to be caught alone with this creep.   
“Your daughter, I presume?” asked Gomber, giving Nancy a look that sent chills up her spine.   
Carson cleared his throat. “Yes, this is my daughter, Nancy. Nancy, this is Nathan Gomber.”   
“Pleasure to meet you,” said Nancy as civilly as she could. She couldn't help letting a bit of ice show through in her voice. She wanted him to leave, immediately.   
“A pleasure to meet you too,” said Gomber. “Your daughter's quite nice.” He glanced at Carson. “May I come in?”   
“What do you want, Gomber?”   
Gomber sighed. “To talk civilly about Twin Elms, if that's alright with you.”   
Carson opened the door all the way. “Yes, that's alright, if it's alright if my daughter listens in.”   
Gomber glanced again at Nancy. “Fine.” Nancy led them into the living room. She and Carson sat together on the sofa while Gomber took a chair. “Now listen, my employers are willing to pay whatever price they name.”   
Carson raised an eyebrow. “You mean anything more than ten thousand?”   
Gomber seemed to shift a little in his seat. “If, uh, that's what they're asking.”   
“That all depends on if they want to sell, which they don't want to, at the moment.”   
Gomber’s face became a little flustered. “They don't want to sell yet? What on Earth are they thinking? Why haven't you persuaded them to sell?”   
Carson shrugged. “Because it's not what they hired me to do. They hired me to take you and your employers to court if you refuse to back down long enough to give them time to think the matter over and prepare to sell.”  
“O-oh, right, of course.”   
“Though from what I hear, why do they need me to persuade them when you seem to be doing the job just fine?”   
Gomber growled. “You could help me out here.”   
“No, I won't. I intend to let the ladies make their own decision on their own time, without your and mine interference.”   
“And if they refuse?”   
“It's their house, they can decide to do with it whatever they want, including not selling to you.”   
Gomber rose quickly. “I see coming here was a big mistake, and a waste of my time trying to reason with you!” He glanced at Nancy. “For someone who’s lost his wife, you’d think you would have chosen an occupation that wouldn't put your daughter in danger of becoming an orphan!”   
Carson stood up and glared at Gomber. “Are you threatening me?”   
“That all depends on you. Good day.” Gomber turned and left. Nancy sat as still as a stone, eyes wide. She barely flinched when the door slammed shut behind Gomber. That certainly did sound like a threat. She blinked once, realizing she hadn't even asked Gomber why his employers were interested in Twin Elms specifically, and why they were that interested. What exactly about the location was lucrative?   
“Nancy?” Nancy shook herself from her thoughts and glanced up at the worried face of her father. “Are you alright?”   
She smiled wanly. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. I mean, that was the first time I’ve heard you threatened like that, but, I know you take necessary precautions, so I’m not worried. But it did take me by surprise.”   
Carson seemed relieved. “You are absolutely correct, and it’s because of stuff like that that I take those precautions, and constantly remind you to do the same in your detective work. I’m sure Fenton tells his boys the exact same.”   
Nancy nodded. “Oh definitely, Frank’s already told me.”   
Carson raised an eyebrow. “Frank, huh? Smart lad, but then again, he is the eldest, I guess he’s had to tell Joe that a lot.”   
Nancy chuckled softly. “Oh, I’m sure of it.”   
“Well, now that you’ve officially met Nathan Gomber . . .” He paused and glanced towards his office. The other four girls were standing in the doorway. “Did you see him?” They nodded.   
“It’ll be hard to miss him,” said Izzy.   
“Sorry we didn’t come out,” began Helen.   
Carson held up his hand. “You’re fine, he was here mainly to see me and I only asked Nancy to listen in. But you all did get a pretty good look at him?” The four nodded again.   
Emily shivered. “Oh, he seems horrid! I do wonder why his employers would want to purchase Twin Elms. Like Helen said, it’s not exactly the best place for apartments, or whatever they’re wanting to build over there.”   
“Which makes this seem more and more like some weird, thought-out scam.” Nancy pondered it a moment before turning to her father. “You said you had another case you had to concentrate on? May I ask what that case is?”   
Carson shrugged. “Sure, it’s going to be in the morning news anyway. It’s more land developers, but more, shall we say, trustworthy sources.” His face broke into a grin. “They’re buying land to build a train station here, apparently River Heights is getting large enough to need one.”   
The girls jumped and cheered.   
“We’re finally getting a train!” exclaimed Helen.   
Emily clasped her hands. “Oh, this will be fun! Next up, an airport!”   
Carson laughed. “We’re not growing that fast, but we should get there eventually. Maybe your grandkids will get to see its completion.” He winked.  
Nancy scoffed. “Dad, come on. River Heights might get an airport long before then.”  
He chuckled. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Now, if you young ladies will excuse me, I have some paperwork to look over concerning the properties I’m representing.” He glanced at Nancy. “And I’m sorry you had to hear all that.”   
Nancy shook her head with determination. “I’m glad to have been there for you. Besides, I can be a witness for you should the need arise.”   
Carson chuckled and pecked her cheek. “I like how you think. Well, I’d better let you get back to your sleepover. And do let me know what you decide about Twin Elms.”   
“An extended sleepover at Twin Elms?” asked Helen hopefully.   
“Well, I can give my permission for Nancy to go, I would appreciate it if you could get permission from your guardians as well.” The girls nodded.   
“We’ll ask them tonight and let you know at supper,” announced Helen.   
“Good. Until then, I’ll be in my office.” He gave the girls a slight wave before disappearing into his office and closing the door behind him.   
Helen turned to Nancy. “Never a dull moment around here, huh?”   
Nancy sighed and shook her head with a slight chuckle as she went to let Togo back inside. “Nope, never a full moment.” The girls watched with amusement as Togo sniffed where Gomber had been, letting out a soft growl at intervals, even shooting Nancy something of a reproachful look. Nancy laughed as she bent down and rubbed behind his ear. “If I had known it was Nathan Gomber, I would have let you stay. Next time, I definitely will.” That seemed to appease him, until he started barking again excitedly.   
“Is Gomber back?” asked Emily worriedly.   
“No, that's his 'welcome home Hannah’ bark!” exclaimed Nancy as she threw open the door. Sure enough, there was Hannah making a valiant attempt to bring all the groceries in at once. With a giggle, the five girls flocked around her and completely relieved her of her burdens, leaving Hannah to scold Togo about getting underfoot in his excitement at welcoming her home. When she got in the kitchen, she shooed the girls out so they wouldn't see the surprise she was planning. With Togo on their heels, the girls dashed back up to Nancy's room. Helen, Emily, and the twins immediately called their guardians and told them everything, ending with asking permission to spend several nights at Twin Elms. Richard and Jane gave their immediate approval, Helen's parents required more information and told her they would call back. Meanwhile, Nancy had texted Jenny and the guys and gave them a quick update on what was going, asking them if they could be counted on for aid. She got a resounding yes. Except two numbers. She let out a huff when Frank and Joe still hadn't replied when Ida, Izzy, and Emily got off their phones with the good news.   
Helen winced when she hung up her cell. “I don't think Mr. Drew wanted us to worry my parents, but, they had to know.”   
“Aunt Rosemary didn't tell your parents?” Emily asked incredulously.   
Helen shook her head. “Apparently not, and now there's going to be a huge fuss about it.” She grimaced. “I hope I didn't just make things harder for you, Nance.”   
Nancy shrugged. “I’ll still help your grandma and her sister, regardless of how hard it gets. As long as you're all there to help, we’ll get to the bottom of this in no time!”   
“But when should we head over? And shouldn't we let Mrs. Turnbull and Mrs. Hayes know so they can be ready for us?” asked Izzy.   
“I think we should head over there tomorrow, and you're right, Izzy, we should. But we need to wait for Helen's parents to call back before making any further plans. At least concerning Twin Elms, we can still make plans for when Helen's pen pal gets here.”   
“Oh, this is so exciting!” said Ida with a squeal.   
“What's her name, so we don't have to keep calling her your pen pal?” said Izzy.   
“Oh, right,” said Helen with a chuckle, “her name is Katherine and she's big into fashion while her sister and mother are into ballet. Her uncle’s an artist, and her father is into local history.”   
“Ooh, that's wonderful!” said Ida.  
“Hmm, so maybe hit the historical parts of River Heights and the museums mainly?” said Nancy.   
Helen bobbed her head. “That's what I was thinking, plus our landmarks and whatever scenic locations we can think of for her uncle.”   
“Sounds great!” said Emily. They talked more about those plans, Emily showing the twins pictures of some of the places they were talking about until Helen's parents called her back, giving their permission. After she hung up, her grandmother called. Helen put her on loudspeaker so everyone could talk to her and they were quickly introduced to Nancy, Ida, and Izzy.   
“We really didn't want to drag you and Emily into this, dear, but if you're set on helping Nancy, we’ll be extremely grateful you girls can help us catch this thief of a ghost.”   
“Well of course Emily and I want to help! Not only is Nancy our good friend, you're family! We're just upset you didn't let us know earlier that you needed help!”   
“Oh darling, with Nancy and you helping Emily look for that will, we didn't want to distract you! That, and I still wasn't feeling the greatest. No need to give you the flu,” came Flora Turnbull’s voice on the line. “Besides, Emily wasn't the only one mourning Gloria. Oh my darling granddaughter, I’m so sorry I wasn't there for you.”   
“It's alright, Grandma, like you said, I wasn't the only one mourning Mom, and you did have the flu.”   
“How are you feeling?”   
“Much better. The real Jane Willoughby is a doll, the real Tophams are fantastic, Nancy found Josiah Crowley's will, and we’ve all moved into Riverview Manor! Life has actually been pretty good . . . it just would be better if Mom was here.”   
Flora sighed. “My thoughts every day.”   
“How are you feeling, Grandma? The flu hit you really hard.”   
Flora coughed. “Yes, but I’ve been feeling better these past few days.”   
Helen gave a low whistle. “You're just now finally feeling better, Aunt Flora?”   
Flora chuckled softly. “Yes dear, I . . . I could be next, you know.”   
“Well then, all the reason why we have to hurry up and catch this thief of a ghost for you,” said Ida quickly. “Worrying about it isn't going to help you get better.”   
Flora laughed. “You have a point there.”   
“So,” broke in Rosemary, “when should we expect you ladies over?”   
“Well, we all have permission from our guardians,” said Nancy, “how about tomorrow morning?”   
“That early?”   
“Tomorrow afternoon?” asked Nancy slowly.   
“Oh no, darling, that's perfectly fine, I just wasn't sure you wanted to come that early. But, if you are coming that early . . . would it be too much to ask you to stop by the Matthews farm on the way in? We're due for a pickup of eggs, butter, and milk, and I would prefer using that time to finish preparing for your arrival. That is, if that's alright by you.”   
“Oh, it's perfectly alright!” exclaimed Nancy. “We’ll pick up your order and see you in the morning!”   
“Do you know where it is?”   
“Oh yes! It’s just a few miles west of Lilac Inn.”   
“Fantastic! We’ll see you tomorrow!”   
“It will be great to see you all!”   
“Bye!”   
“Ooh, I’d better head home now and pack. I only have enough for tonight! It’ll make it easier for us to stop by Riverview Manor on the way over to pick up Emily's, Ida's, and Izzy's clothes.”   
“Or, we could drop them off while you and I go to the Matthews farm to pick up Miss Rosemary's order.” She got up and peeked out the window. “Or they could just take their own car and meet us there.”   
Helen chuckled as she got up. “That would work better. I’ll be back soon!”   
“Just don't take your mom's kitchen sink!” Nancy shouted after her.   
“Ha ha!” replied Helen while Ida, Izzy, and Emily burst out laughing. Nancy grinned but went back to watching out the window as a car pulled away from the other side of the street. Was it just her suspicious imagination, or was someone watching their house?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week I'll be posting the next chapter in the Hardy boys book!!


	3. The Matthews Farm

The girls got up bright and early the next morning and quickly went about packing up the two vehicles while Hannah made breakfast. When they finished eating breakfast, Emily and the Tophams left. Nancy stayed a little longer to bid her family farewell before she and Helen took off.   
“Oh wow, I can’t believe it! We’re actually going to the farm!”   
Nancy glanced at her friend oddly before turning her attention back to the road. “You’re the last person I thought would get excited about going to a farm.”   
“But this is the Matthews farm, grandma and Aunt Flora have been singing their praises for years! My father’s bought products from them before, but he had to stop when his position moved into town. It just wasn’t feasible at the time and, well, we haven’t been there since.”   
Nancy nodded. “Makes sense.” She thought a moment. “Do they accept impromptu orders?”   
“Oh yes, but it all depends on what they have left over after taking care of their regulars. What are you thinking about?”   
Nancy shot her a grin. “Oh, just that I might order extra since we are going to be staying at Twin Elms for a while. And they don’t do deliveries, do they?”   
“Well, mainly to the local groceries, their individual customers typically went out to the farm to get their orders themselves. My father said it was to spend some time with the family, but if that were the case, my mother wouldn’t have that big of a problem heading out there herself.” Helen paused. “Nancy?”   
“Yeah?”   
“You know, the more I think about it . . . I wonder if my mother had a crush on William Matthews. He got married a couple of years before my parents did.”   
Nancy raised an eyebrow. “Um, OK, I don’t see how that’s going to help your grandmother.”   
Helen waved her hand impatiently. “I know, I know, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. See, we haven’t talked about the Matthews farm in forever, it seems. It’s almost like an urban legend in my house.”   
“Well, we won’t be able to stay long enough for you to find out.” Nancy sighed. “But I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, if you’d like.”   
Helen gave her a quick side hug. “Oh Nance, you’re the best!”   
“I try, and no guarantees. It probably would have been better if we talked to your mother.”   
Helen nodded. “True that, but thanks for keeping an eye out for any clues.”   
Nancy chuckled softly. “You’re welcome.” The girls switched talk to other things, mainly of what plans to make for when the Kovna family would arrive, plus what they would try to do with the rest of their summer.   
Finally, Nancy pulled onto a dirt path that led to a nice-looking farmhouse. There were several children playing outside under the shade of a grove of trees with a couple of dogs. One of the children saw the incoming car, and with a yell, the entire group ran into the house. Nancy parked the car and the two got out.  
“Why, it's rather quaint!” exclaimed Helen.   
“Farms aren't all that bad, huh?” said Nancy with a twinkle in her eyes.  
“Should we go in or wait here?” asked Helen.   
Nancy bit her lip. “Um, I don't know, this is my first time, after all.”   
“Well, I feel awkward going into a house I haven't been invited into, so I'm waiting out here.”   
Nancy chuckled. “Probably a better idea.” A strange sound caught their attention and, curious, they went to investigate. They walked past the house and went towards a fenced off area. As they got closer, Nancy realized it was someone singing, but in a language she had never heard before. They realized the sounds were coming from the barn and headed that way.  
“Oh!” exclaimed Helen when they got to the fence. A blond man in his early twenties was sitting in the barn milking one of the cows. He stopped his song and his blue eyes widened in shock at the sight of Nancy and Helen.   
“We're sorry, we didn't mean to startle you,” said Nancy apologetically. “We're here to pick up an order for Flora Turnbull and Rosemary Hayes, and well, this is our first time . . .”   
“Are you related to Miss Rosemary and Miss Flora?” he asked. Nancy noted there was no sign of a foreign accent in his voice, but he did have a slight Boston accent.   
“I am,” said Helen, “I’m their granddaughter, Helen Corning. My father used to come here for a while.”   
His eyes widened and he stood up. “Oh! Ryan and Sarah Corning’s daughter! Of course!” He took her hand and shook it with a warm smile. “A pleasure to finally meet you! Your father used to bring us little toys from time to time.”   
Helen smiled. “Yes!” She turned to Nancy. “And this is my dear friend, Nancy Drew.”   
Nancy held out her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”   
He shook her hand. “A pleasure to meet you too! I'm Richard Matthews, give me a second to finish up with Miriam and I’ll escort you back to the house. That's where we keep all the orders.” He quickly sat back down on the stool and returned to milking.   
“Not Bessie?” said Nancy with a smirk.   
Richard laughed. “Oh no, when you have more than one cow, Bessie just doesn't cut it.” He looked between the girls. “Oh, hi Mom!” The girls turned, a woman of about forty was walking towards them. She looked very pleasant with her graying hair pulled up in a bun and a soft smile, but her brown eyes had a question in them. “Mom, this is Helen Corning and Nancy Drew. Nancy’s a friend of Helen's, and Helen's Mr. Ryan's daughter!”   
Her eyes widened with recognition. “Oh, why you are! Oh my, you're so grown up!” She gave Helen a hug. She turned to Nancy and gave her a hug. “And any friend of the Corning's is a friend of ours! But what brings you out this way?” The two explained their errand, but prudently left out the hauntings at Twin Elms.   
“We do apologise for interrupting your son,” said Nancy, “but this is our first time to a farm and . . .”   
Mrs. Matthews laughed. “Oh, of course! Come inside, their order’s waiting.” They followed her into the house, Helen telling her all about how her family was doing as they walked. Once inside, they saw the children had gone back outside to the grove, their job done. Two men were sitting in the kitchen, their conversation having stopped when the three women walked in. Introductions were made, and they met William and Fred Matthews, followed by explanations.   
William laughed. “So that's what took you so long, Nadia! We haven't had first-timers here in a while. Everyone's gone exploring the farm their first time here. Regulars just come into the house.” The girls sighed with relief, so they weren't acting that weird. He went to the fridge and pulled out a bag with the words Twin Elms written in ink across the top. “And here's their order.”   
“Oh thank you! Do you by chance have any extras?” asked Nancy. “I’ll pay for them.”   
Fred rubbed his chin. “I think so. We keep that in a separate fridge though. I’ll be right back.” He left right as Richard came in with the pail of milk.   
“Would you like to take a seat and have some warm milk and freshly baked bread with butter while you wait?” asked Nadia as she indicated the chairs around the table.   
“Mmm,” said Helen, “that sounds great!”   
“Just one slice for me please,” said Nancy, “we ate breakfast not too long ago.” When Fred returned with some of the extra eggs, milk, and butter, the two had eaten two slices of bread and butter and the three had learned everything about Nancy. Nancy also learned about the Matthews. Nadia moved to America from Europe using money from a wealthy relative and toured America for a while before meeting William, falling in love, and getting married. Nancy, true to her word, kept an eye out for any clues as to William’s feelings towards Sarah Corning. But she noticed that he truly did love Nadia, and though Fred seemed particularly interested in the comings and goings of the Corning household, she noticed it seemed to be only with a brotherly love rather than the remnants of a former crush. The same could be said of William, in fact. They only ever saw Sarah Corning as a sister. Then Fred began teasing William about his fear of chickens, and Nancy was reminded sharply of the Hardys. Did Frank think of her as only a sister?   
“Oh my goodness! Nancy, we’d better be going!” exclaimed Helen. Nancy glanced at the clock she was looking at and her mouth dropped.   
“Oh man, you're right! I'm so sorry we have to go like this, but they're expecting us!”   
Nadia rose with a shake of her hand. “Oh no need to apologise! You did only intend to pick up their order. We apologise for taking up so much of your time!”   
“Oh no need, it was fun!” Nancy reached into her purse. “How much for the extra groceries?”   
William shook his head. “No charge, you stayed here and chatted with us old folks . . .”  
“Hey, leave me out of that!” blurted Richard.   
Fred chuckled as he wrangled him and gave him a noogie. “You're older than these two, you’ve got no choice.”   
William rolled his eyes. “Anyway, point is, even if you were to try and pay us, we won't accept it.”   
“Are you sure?”   
Nadia nodded with finality. “We're positive.”   
Richard chuckled. “Don’t argue with Mom and Dad, once their mind is set, it’s set and there’s no changing it. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to make Miss Rosemary and Miss Flora wait too long.”   
Nancy sighed as she shook her head and smiled. “Alright, alright, you win. And you’re right, we really shouldn’t make them wait too long. Thank you so much for your hospitality.” Helen echoed the thanks, and after a quick farewell, they grabbed the groceries and went to the car. They waved to their newly made friends and drove away.   
“So, um, were you getting the same vibes I was?” asked Helen. “That the Matthews brothers only thought of my mother as a sister?”   
Nancy scoffed. “I thought you wanted me to find all the clues!”  
“Oh come on, Nance, I’m not that stupid!! I can notice things every now and then!”   
Nancy laughed. “When you feel like it. But yes, I got the same sensation, that they only thought of your mother as a sister.” Nancy’s eyebrows knitted together. “Which would mean that the cush was all on your mother’s side, but if it really was a crush, why hasn’t she gotten over it?”   
Helen sat back with a thoughtful gaze. “Oh, you’re right.”   
“Or you were just reading romantic drama into a situation that has a fairly simple reason behind it, namely that your parents like to stay busy and they do keep themselves busy. So, no time to go to the farm.”   
Helen huffed. “You might be right.”   
“Might be? I’m most likely am right!”   
Helen tapped her shoulder. “Alright, knock it off. So I like romance as much as Bess does, doesn’t make it bad.”   
“No, but when you let your imagination run away with itself and insert romance where doesn’t need to be, you’re going to get yourself into some uncomfortable situations.”  
“Fair enough, but I do know romance when I see it, especially when it’s you.”   
Nancy began to blush. “Oh, you knock it off!”   
Helen threw up her hands as she shot Nancy a sly smile. “Hey, it’s only fair.”   
“Oh come on, we don’t even know if Frank likes me back!”   
Helen snickered. “Well, if Mr. William Matthews taught me anything, it’s that Frank does like you.”   
“But how can you tell? You’ve only talked to him over the phone!”   
“You’re the detective, you figure it out.” Helen shot her a sly grin. Nancy groaned and let the matter drop. They were nearing Twin Elms and she needed to focus on the mystery. They saw that Emily and the Tophams twins had already arrived when they parked behind their car. Nancy figured on getting the groceries in first before coming back for their luggage, but Emily, the Tophams, and Rosemary Hayes rushed out to meet them.   
“Helen!”   
“Grandma!” Helen rushed into her grandmother’s arms while Emily and the Tophams helped Nancy with the groceries and luggage. When they got inside, Ida and Izzy went to pick up the groceries while Emily and Rosemary showed Nancy and Helen to their room.   
“Why, it’s so pretty!” exclaimed Nancy. The walls were covered in a pretty floral wallpaper, the bedsheets were of the same lovely shade of violet as the wallpaper, and there was a nature scene hung above each bed. Two wooden dressers were pushed up against the wall on either side of the door, and the closet was certainly large enough to fit both of Nancy’s and Helen’s dresses with space for more.   
“I’m glad you like it,” said Rosemary with a beam as the two put down their luggage.   
“Ida and Izzy are in the room across from yours,” said Emily, pointing at the door across the hall. “Aunt Rosemary’s room is the door next to it, and Grandmother’s room is the one next to this one.”   
Nancy glanced at Emily. “Where are you sleeping?”   
Emily smiled. “I’m sleeping with Grandmother. Aunt Rosemary insisted.”   
Helen gasped as she looked at her grandmother in surprise. “But I have to sleep in here with Nancy?”   
“And leave her all by herself? Goodness gracious me, definitely not!” She leaned in and whispered. “Besides, I figured it would be good for Flora and Emily. They really haven’t had much of a chance to talk since the funeral.”   
“I see your point. Yes, they definitely need that.” Helen let out a breath and spoke the next sentence a little louder. “But next time, Grandma, I expect to room with you.”   
Rosemary grinned. “You can count on it.”   
“Mrs. Hayes?”   
Rosemary waved her hand. “Oh dear, go ahead and call me Aunt Rosemary and my sister Aunt Flora. With as much as Helen and Emily have told us about you and the rest of your friends, we feel as if you were family already!”   
Nancy smiled. “I would like that. Well, um, Aunt Rosemary, if you don’t mind, I would like to unpack later. I really want to talk to you both about the ghost.”   
“Of course! Flora’s been itching to meet you too!” Rosemary led the three back down the stairs and into an elegant sitting room where Ida and Izzy were chatting away with Flora. Nancy was introduced to Flora Turnbull, who was ecstatic that the girls were going to help them get rid of their ghostly resident.   
“We were in fact beginning to wonder what was taking you so long, “said Flora, “but then we remembered that you went to the Matthews farm. Everyone stays for a little while. They do enjoy having company.”   
“Yes, and no one told me that Richard Matthews was so handsome,” said Helen.   
Ida gasped. “Say what? You two met a handsome guy? No fair!” The group laughed. But the joviality paused as a squeaking sound could be heard. They glanced around the room. Everyone was accounted for. Was it the ghost?   
“Where’s it coming from?” asked Helen.   
Emily glanced up and let out a scream. “Look!”   
The chandelier was rocking back and forth!


	4. The First Haunting

“My goodness!” exclaimed Flora as Emily and Rosemary helped her off the sofa and got her to the far wall.   
Nancy had jumped up as well, her eyes scrutinizing the swinging chandelier. “Which room is above this one?”   
“Flora’s,” said Rosemary. Nancy rushed out of the room and dashed up the stairs.   
“Nancy!” called out Helen. She, Ida, and Izzy ran after her. Thinking about it later, Nancy realized that she should have gone quietly, but at that moment she could only think of the importance of time. Besides, she hoped to get some clue as to how the ghost kept getting in and out of the house. She flung open Flora’s door and paused, her eyes looking for any sign of the retreating apparition. But none could be seen. She let out a soft growl, so it was going to be a little harder than that. Well she wasn't going to give up. She began a thorough search of the room.   
“Helen, take a look through Aunt Flora's closet. Izzy, check every board under the bed thoroughly. Ida, keep an eye out the window, I want to know if you see anyone on the grounds.”   
“Right!” chorused the girls before they took to their assignments. Nancy went to the spot where she estimated the chandelier was. She glanced at her watch. It took her, what, ten, fifteen seconds tops, to get up the stairs to the room. She figured going out the window would have taken a little longer than that as the ghost had to open and close the window. Plus, Ida was looking rather intently out it right now, she would have seen him by now if he had. Nancy knelt down to peer closer at the floor, hoping to find some clue as to the direction the ghost took. Both the door and the window were obviously out of the question, which could only mean that there had to be a secret passage somewhere. Just, where was it, and how did it open?   
Emily came into the room. “Is everything alright? Aunt Flora is getting a little worried.”   
Nancy nodded. “For now, anyway. The ghost got away before we could get in here.”   
“But how is that possible?” asked Helen with a huff as she joined Nancy. “You should have caught some glimpse of him when you got up here!”   
“That's what I'm wondering,” said Nancy. “The only explanation is that there's some secret passage in this room.”   
Emily shivered. “I don't like the idea of someone coming and going like some ghost, especially in Grandma's room!”   
Helen glanced at Emily. “Do you think it's a good idea for you and Aunt Flora to be spending the night here?”   
“Has the ghost come at night, though?” asked Nancy. “I need to speak to Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Flora about when they notice the ghostly occurrences.” She stood up. “But first, I want to try out something. Let's see which way the ghost could have gone.”   
“Well I highly doubt it's under the bed,” said Izzy as she joined them, dusting herself. “There doesn't seem to be any secret passages under it, definitely no secret doors.”  
“And I don't think it's the window,” said Ida, glancing between the group and the yard. “The window is locked!”   
Nancy looked at Helen. “And the closet?”   
Helen shook her head. “Nope, definitely nothing in there. I think I was the only person to disturb anything in there besides Aunt Flora and Emily.” The girls, besides Ida, took a quick survey of the room. Helen's eyes widened. “Oh, the fireplace!” She quickly rushed over to it, grabbed a poker, and looked up.   
“Um, Helen, I don't think anyone besides Santa would go up and down a chimney,” said Nancy. No sooner had she spoke than a cloud of ash descended on Helen's head and shoulders, prompting a yelp. Izzy fell over laughing, while Emily dashed to the bathroom and Nancy rushed to Helen. Ida stayed at her post, but she was giggling uncontrollably. “See what I mean? Only Santa!” Helen shot Nancy the stinky eye, Nancy shot her a cheeky grin in reply. Emily came back with a damp washcloth and helped Helen clean up some of the ash.   
“You know you can help,” mumbled Helen at the twins as they finally got their giggles under control.  
“Why? Emily's got it under control,” said Izzy with a snort.   
“And I am! I'm doing what Nancy told me to,” said Ida as she turned back to the window.   
Nancy laughed. “Yes, and I thank you. But I think we’ve established that the ghost definitely didn't go out that way, unless he were a real ghost.”   
Helen groaned. “I am such a mess! This is what I get for trying to be as smart as Nancy.”   
Nancy patted her shoulder. “It was a good idea.”   
“But what makes you think he didn't go that way?”   
“I would have seen the falling ash if he did. Plus, you just thoroughly confirmed that no one has cleaned that chimney in a while. There's no way he’s been using that as an entry. Which can only mean one thing, there's a secret passage somewhere in here.”   
“Well,” said Izzy, “I checked every board thoroughly, there's definitely no secret passage under the bed.”   
“And it wouldn't make sense for it to be in the closet,” said Helen.   
“If there's a way out to the yard, I don't think it comes out to this side of the house. I didn't see anyone out on the lawn,” said Ida.   
Nancy glanced around the room, eyeing every possible spot that could open to a secret passage. “Where would a secret passage be well hidden . . .” She paused and looked at Emily. “You told me that Lilac Inn and Twin Elms were identical.”  
Emily nodded. “They are still, technically. As you may have noticed, these rooms are much larger than the ones back at Lilac Inn. Mom put in a lot of work to get more rooms for the business, she had split these into two or three. The only one that's still the same size before the renovation is the master bedroom. Mom wanted at least one room to remain the same so people could see what an old Victorian room looked like. ”   
“Which rooms are basically this room?”   
“A couple of the guest bedrooms just a couple of doors down from where you and Helen stayed. I'm pretty sure they're in use right now.”   
Nancy nodded. “I see.”   
Helen gasped. “Are you thinking the ghost could be staying at the Inn? He’s using the secret passage that the Caldwells built to hide slaves!”   
“Well, that's a possibility, but I highly doubt it. I'm pretty sure there's a spot that comes out into the woods separating the houses. That way, he wouldn't disturb the guests at Lilac Inn either.” She glanced at Emily. “But just in case, can you ask the Turners to let us know who's staying in those rooms?”   
Emily bobbed her head. “Right away!” She pulled out her phone and called the Turner sisters.   
Nancy turned to Helen. “In the meantime, let's get you cleaned up. Ida, Izzy, can you two stay with Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Flora until we're finished? We’ll meet downstairs and go over a plan of action. Plus, I do need to ask them more about their ghost.”   
Ida and Izzy nodded. “Of course!” With their assignments, the girls left Emily in the room to talk to the Turners. Nancy got Helen a clean outfit while she took a shower. When Helen was finally clean, the two joined the others back in the sitting room. Emily was already sitting next to her grandmother as she and the twins were telling them about the whole incident.   
Rosemary looked at Helen and burst out laughing. “You got covered . . . in soot? You should have taken a picture!”   
“Oh you're right, we should have!” said Izzy.   
“Grandma!” exclaimed Helen.   
“Well, now that that's over,” said Nancy, sitting down, “let's get back to business. I have an experiment I would like to try out, but first, Aunt Rosemary, Aunt Flora, what else can you tell me about the ghost?”   
“Besides the fact that we don't see him and we don't know how he gets in and out?” asked Rosemary dryly. “Well, he typically only comes in late evening, so this was unusual, but he has come in the late morning before, so not rare.”   
“But this was the first time he's swung the chandelier, that's for sure!” said Flora. She glanced at the girls grimly. “Quite the welcome, don't you think?”   
“Well I think he knew you were coming somehow!” exclaimed Rosemary.   
“Grandma, weren't Emily and the twins here for a while before Nancy and I got here?”   
“Oh, that is true. He could have already been upstairs prowling for . . .” She paused, her eyes widening. “Emily, did you look in Flora's jewelry case?”   
“Um no, why?”   
Rosemary patted Flora's hand. “I'm going to check to see. I’ll be right back.” She got up and rushed towards Flora's room, Nancy, Helen and Ida following. When the three got to the room, Rosemary was already opening the jewelry case. “Oh please don't take those!”   
“Grandma?”   
Rosemary let out a groan. “They're gone! Flora's pearls are gone!” She glanced up with tears in her eyes. “They, they were a present to her from her late husband, Jed Turnbull. He saved up a lot of money to get her real pearls, but . . . the sentiment behind it is far more important to Flora than its wealth.” She sat down on the bed and wiped a dreary hand over her eyes. “Oh, I am so done with this ghost! I, I’m at my wit's end!”   
Nancy pursed her lips. “Enough to want to sell this house?”   
Rosemary looked at her sharply, anger replacing sorrow. “No! I'm just done with this ghost acting like he owns the place! But we can't catch him! And that's where you girls come in. I have to take care of Flora, so I haven't been able to look for any clues.”   
Nancy sat on the bed next to her and patted her hand. “And that's exactly what we’re going to do. Is there anything else you can tell me about this ghost? What times he likes to, well, haunt you? What exactly does he do, besides stealing jewelry and swinging chandeliers?”   
Rosemary thought a moment. “Well, to be honest, he doesn't exactly have a specific time, per se, he’ll come in the evening usually, about the time we’re having dinner, and move things around. We didn't even notice he had stolen anything for a while until I needed to get a couple of pieces cleaned and saw those pieces were missing.” Rosemary took Nancy's hands. “I don't care about the rest of the jewelry, I want Flora's pearls back!”   
“She’ll get it back, Grandma, don't worry,” said Helen with a proud smile at her friend. “Just give her some time to find the clues and piece them together.”   
Nancy got up from the bed. “Speaking of, one clue I might have is the time the chandelier stopped swinging to the time we got into the room. It will eliminate the path the ghost took.” She turned to Rosemary. “Did the chandelier continue to swing after we left?”   
Rosemary shook her head. “Oh no, it was slowing down by the time you got to the stairs.”   
Nancy began to pace the room. “OK, so that gives the ghost a little more time to get somewhere.” She drummed her fingers on her chin. “Hmm, let's see, how do I want to do this.” She glanced at Helen and Ida. “Let's head back downstairs, we’re going to need everyone's help.”   
Rosemary sighed. “And I guess I’d better tell Flora about her pearls.” She led the way downstairs. Flora seemed to take one look at her sad face and knew.   
She sighed. “He finally took my pearls, didn't he?”   
Rosemary sniffled. “I'm, I’m so sorry, Flora, I know how much those pearls meant to you.”   
Flora shook her head. “It's fine, I figured he'd come for them one of these days.” She tilted her chin up defiantly. “But if he thinks this will ensure that we’ll sell the house, he’s dead wrong.”  
Nancy's admiration of the older woman grew and became even more determined to catch this crook. “That's the spirit!” she exclaimed. “And I have an experiment I want to try out, and I need everyone's help.”   
Flora turned to her with a smile. “Just tell us what to do.”   
“OK, I think I can recreate the chandelier swinging. Aunt Rosemary, Aunt Flora, I want you two to stay down here and just keep an eye on the chandelier. Emily, I want you to run messages, let me know if I’m swinging it too hard or too softly.”   
Emily nodded. “Right.”   
“Helen, I want you to become me, basically the four of you recreate the scene as best as possible. Talk for a little while until I start swinging the chandelier and make something of a scream to let me know you’ve seen it. Or some other noise if you want.”   
“OK,” they chorused.   
“Ida and Izzy are coming with me.” She turned to the twins. “As soon as I’ve stopped swinging the chandelier, I want you to try a couple different escape routes. I want to be absolutely sure we’ve narrowed it down to the most likeliest path the ghost took.”   
Ida and Izzy nodded. “Got it.”   
“Alright, let’s go.” Ida and Isabel followed Nancy up the stairs while Emily, Helen, Rosemary, and Flora stayed downstairs.   
“How exactly do you recreate a chandelier swinging?” asked Izzy as the two walked up the stairs.   
Nancy’s eyebrows furrowed. “I have a theory about that, and it seems like the only way. I think the ghost stood above the spot where the chandelier is and rocked it by rocking back and forth on the floorboards. It’s the only explanation for how he did it. There’s no opening in the floor that allows you to manually grasp the top of the chandelier and shake it.” Nancy let out a breath as they entered the room. “The other thing is that he might be heavier than me, so that might be a factor.”   
Izzy shrugged. “Well, you do have me and Ida, we can try to help you make that chandelier swing.”   
Nancy grinned. “That is true. Well, be ready if Emily says it’s not even swinging at all.” She walked to the spot where she estimated the chandelier was, let out a breath, and began leaning to and fro. Izzy stepped back out into the hall to keep an ear out for Emily. Nancy had only leaned back and forth a couple of times before they heard a scream.   
“Nancy, Izzy, Ida, come quick!” came Emily’s shout immediately after. The three ran back down the stairs.   
Nancy let out a huff when they entered the sitting room, clearly annoyed that she couldn’t finish the experiment. It could have provided an important clue! “OK, now what?” But her frustration subsided when she saw the looks of fear on the four women.   
Flora pointed with a shaky hand at the window. “There, there was some k-kind of monster out there!”


	5. Finally Getting to Experiment

“Wait, Nancy!” shouted Helen as Nancy dashed out into the yard. She groaned. “She's done that twice already!” She and the others dashed after Nancy. Nancy slowly turned around, surveying the grounds before moving. The others followed her towards the window where Flora had seen the apparition.   
Nancy let out an exasperated huff. “He’s gone!”   
“Well, you really didn’t think catching him would be that easy, now did you?’ said Helen.   
“No, but I was expecting to see him running away from the house, even if he was too far away for us to catch up to him.”  
Helen’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean . . .”  
“I think this person Aunt Flora saw is the same ghost who had swung the chandelier. There’s got to be a secret opening here somewhere!” Nancy took another look around the yard, but she wasn’t seeing anything. Behind her, the others had huddled together, fear beginning to take over, fear that an unknown man had complete access to the house and they didn’t know where he was hiding at that moment. And especially in broad daylight! Nancy glanced at them and her hands balled into fists. She was determined to catch this guy, but first, she had to find him.   
She let out a huff before addressing the group. “Let’s head back inside, he’s obviously long gone. Let’s get back into our positions and I’ll see if I can recreate the chandelier moving. We’ve got to find a clue somewhere, and that chandelier’s a good place to start.”   
Helen nodded. “Good idea.” The others agreed as well. They followed Nancy back into the house, Rosemary bolting the door as soon as they were all in.   
“But what I want to know is,” said Izzy, “how did he find out about a secret passage?”   
Nancy pointed at her. “That’s a fantastic point. How does this guy know more about this house than the people living here?”   
“Well, it’s not like we actually looked that hard into the history of the house, much less the floor plans,” said Rosemary as she helped Flora back to the sofa.   
“But we did look at the floor plans,” said Flora. “We didn’t see any secret passages or hidden tunnels of the sort!”   
Nancy rubbed her chin, thinking hard. “So, maybe not even the realtors knew? Or they didn’t have the original floor plans?”   
“Actually I bet the Caldwell brothers never told anyone about the secret tunnel, or put it in the floor plans,’ said Flora. “They did build this and Lilac Inn around the time of the Civil War, and since they were helping runaway slaves, they figured it best that no one but they knew about it.”   
Nancy nodded. “That is true. But the question still stands, how did they find out the secrets of the house long before you did?”   
Flora scoffed as she sat down. “Oh that’s easy, they were determined to find it for their diabolical scheme, we weren’t interested in looking for it in all the time we’ve lived here.”   
Rosemary nodded as she placed some pillows behind Flora. “Yes, there is that too.” She turned to Nancy, determination in her eyes. “But now, it’s our turn to find the secret tunnel and smoke him out.”   
Nancy nodded, smiling. “Exactly! That’s the spirit, Aunt Rosemary! Now, everyone get back into position. We may find a clue yet!” Nancy, Ida, and Izzy sped out of the room and up the stairs while the others got back into position. Ida stood by the door and Izzy sat on the bed, but both were ready to spring into action.  
“Ida, when I stop moving, you wait a second before going into Aunt Rosemary’s room.”   
Ida nodded. “Got it.”   
She turned to Izzy. “I know Helen said that there was no way anyone went into the closet, but I want you to try and see if you can go through and make it look like no one went through.”   
Izzy nodded. “Will do.”   
“Good, thank you.” Nancy glanced at her watch and waited a few seconds before placing her feet firmly on the floor above where she assumed the chandelier was hanging and began to sway from foot to foot.   
“Oh! It’s working!” shouted Emily. Nancy immediately stopped moving. Ida and Izzy waited a second before dashing to their hiding spots. Nancy quickly walked towards the far side of the room, where the fireplace was. Next to it was Flora’s vanity with a few shelves within reach for her to keep her things organized, and on the other side was a bookcase. There was about a foot on either side of the fireplace. Nancy furrowed her brow. Was there a secret panel there?   
Emily and Helen burst into the room. “Aw, Nancy, you didn’t have time to hide?” asked Helen.   
Nancy merely turned and grinned, leaning against the vanity. “No, but Izzy and Ida apparently did. How about you find them?” The two searched the room and found Izzy fairly quickly. She had completely eliminated that route. Nancy then realized that she should have told Ida to move somewhere else after Emily and Helen had entered the room, but it was too late for that now. All she could do was to tell Emily and Helen that Ida wasn't in Flora's room. They found her, manicuring her fingernails in the room she and Izzy were sharing.   
She grinned at Nancy's surprised face. “I figured you would have wanted me to move around, so I did,” she said with a shrug. “Was just trying to think like the ghost.”   
Nancy hugged her. “You're an absolute doll!” She turned to Emily and Helen. “Did you hear us moving around up here?”   
They shook their heads. “The only clue we might have had that you were up here was the chandelier swinging,” said Emily.   
“Well, besides already knowing you were up here,” said Helen with a smirk.   
Nancy chuckled. “Yes, besides that.” She became silent and thoughtful. So technically the ghost could wander the halls with everyone on the first floor not knowing about it. And if that were the case, then there might not be a hidden passage in Flora's room. It could be any room, heck, even the attic! “The attic!”   
Her friends looked at her in surprise. Ida jumped up from the bed. “Oh, why didn't I think of that!”   
Nancy patted her shoulder. “You thought of moving around before I did, we’ll call it even. But let's check out the attic!” Her friends answered in the positive, and Nancy led them up to the attic. Helen switched on the light.  
“Well, would you look at that, this attic has a pretty good light!” said Ida.   
Helen let out a soft breath. “Well, there's a reason for that.” She pointed to the right side of the attic. There, along the wall, was an open trunk full of clothes with a photo album propped up against the lid and a small box of photos on top. A couple of candles were set on either side.   
“Is that a shrine?” asked Izzy.   
Helen nodded as the group walked towards it. “It's for Grandpa Joe and Uncle Jed. They come up here from time to time to reminisce.”   
Emily knelt by the trunk and pulled out a jacket. “This was Grandpa's.” She gasped as a shirt came untangled from the jacket and fell to the floor. “Why, this was one of Mom's!” She picked it up, and tears began to fill her eyes. She covered her face in her hands. “I miss her so much!” The other four crowded around her, hugging her tight as she shook with sobs.   
“Would you rather wait with your grandma?” asked Nancy softly.   
Emily nodded. “P-please.”   
“I’ll take her down,” said Ida.   
“Thank you,” said Nancy as they helped Emily up. Ida wrapped her arms around Emily's quivering form and gently led her to the stairs. “Just don't find anything until I get back!” Emily burst out laughing through her tears.  
“Then you’d better get back up here quickly.”   
“Then let's get you downstairs quickly so I can!” The others chuckled as the two quickly went down.   
“So, what are we looking for?” asked Izzy.   
“A hollow wall panel or floorboard,” said Nancy as she began to tap the walls. “More likely a floorboard since this is the attic, but we'll check the walls too, just in case.” Izzy and Helen nodded and three began their search. When Ida came back up, the three were still tapping away. She dove into the search, but by the time they went through the attic twice, they hadn't found a thing.   
Nancy let out an exasperated huff as the four regrouped at the door of the attic. “Nothing, I feel like I’m missing something.”   
“Maybe we'll need to come back to the attic later, look at it with fresh eyes,” said Helen. “I have that feeling too, like we're missing something, but I just can't see it.”   
“We have had a pretty eventful afternoon already,” pointed out Izzy. “Plus, the ghost knows we're here, looking for him, he’s probably making double sure his tracks are covered.”   
Nancy nodded. “That does make sense.” She sighed. “Alright, let's head back down. There's nothing more we can do right now.” Helen patted her back before turning off the light. The four went back downstairs, slightly crestfallen.   
“Emily told us you found the trunk,” said Flora softly when the four entered the living room. She was still on the sofa, her arms wrapped around the sniffling Emily.   
“We didn't touch anything, promise,” said Ida immediately.   
Rosemary held up her hand. “Don't worry about it, I know you all have enough respect that you would have been careful. It's just . . .” Rosemary paused and bit her lip. “I'm nervous about leaving that up there now. Would you girls help me carry the things down? That trunk is far too big, awkward, and heavy for all of us to try and carry it all down in it.”   
Nancy smiled. “We'll be glad to help.” They traipsed back up the stairs with Rosemary, grabbed as much as they could, and came back to the living room with their piles.   
“What will we do with the old trunk?” asked Izzy when they placed their piles in front of the sofa.   
“We'll just leave it there for now,” said Rosemary. “We can put everything back in it once we've caught the ghost.”  
“It's such a unique trunk,” said Nancy. “Where did you get it?”   
“It actually came with the house,” said Rosemary. “We just never saw a need to move it. Then it became our shrine for our departed loved ones.”   
Flora nodded. “It seemed like the best way to use it.”   
“And if you do go back into the attic, I would prefer it if you don’t move it either,” said Rosemary. “I mean, you can move it a bit to look underneath, just please put it back. It’s a convenient spot for us old bones.”   
Nancy chuckled. “I totally understand, but I think I’ve done enough looking in the attic for now.” She thought for a moment. “Do you have any journals, diaries, or letters from the Caldwells? Maybe they left behind a clue that way.”   
Rosemary thought for a moment. “Well, there are a couple of poetry books that Joe Caldwell wrote, one is still here and the other is at Lilac Inn.”   
Emily seemed to perk up at that as she sat up and nodded. “Oh yes, it’s still there. The Turner sisters like reading it to Judy from time to time, and Josiah enjoyed reading it when he visited.”   
“Is there anything else?”   
“Well, not here, that is, everything else we found that belonged to the Caldwells, journals, letters, and the like, were given to the Historical Society. They have the majority of them locked away, but a few are on display at the River Heights History Museum.”   
“We’re heading over there next, aren’t we?” asked Helen.   
Nancy smiled. “Yes, but not today.” She glanced at the window. “I want to take a look over the grounds before it gets too dark.” She turned to Rosemary. “If it’s alright with you, may we get a tour of the place?”   
“Why of course! I am so sorry!”   
Nancy waved her hands. “You’re fine! I’ve been wanting to get started on the mystery so quickly that there wasn't a proper time for one!” She smiled. “But now that we seem to have scared off the ghost for now, now should be a good time.”   
Rosemary chuckled. “Of course! And, since you seem to have already had something of a tour of the second floor and the attic, I’ll just take you through the first floor and the yard.”   
Nancy smiled. “Perfect.”   
“Emily, will you stay here and take care of Flora?”   
Emily smiled and nodded. “Yes, Aunt Rosemary.”   
“Thank you.” She turned to the other girls. “Then follow me.” Rosemary showed them the first floor, Nancy getting to see the kitchen and dining room for the first time, and saw that there was another room that was turned into a library and game room of sorts. Then they went outside.   
“They took down the servant’s quarters for both Twin Elms and Twin Lilacs, right?” asked Nancy.   
Rosemary nodded. “They did, the brothers themselves tore them down at the turn of the century. Things had finally changed enough that they didn’t need servants any more. I think Adam led the tear down as a part of his grieving process over Rachel, and hoped to find her remains by doing so, even though it had been some years since her death. Jim’s own wife, Elizabeth, passed away not long before they took down the buildings, so it might have been a part of his grieving process as well. The two just had to do something that could help others, and they figured that by taking down those buildings, even though their servants never complained about working for them, they were helping in some way. They later turned to helping the community however they could until their deaths, Jim in 1901, Adam a year later in 1902.”   
“Wow, they sound like they were amazing guys,” said Ida.   
Rosemary smiled. “You’ll find out more when you go to the History Museum. They might not have founded the town, but the Caldwell brothers were as much an important part of building River Heights as Henry Lamar was. Like I said, you’ll find out more at the History Museum.”   
“Do you know what happened to the descendants of the Caldwell brothers?” asked Nancy, keeping a sharp eye for anything out of the ordinary on the lawn. So far, she wasn’t making out anything.   
Rosemary shrugged. “All I know is that Jim’s daughter, Sarah Caldwell, sold this house to my grandfather, and it’s been with my family ever since. It certainly helped Gloria purchase Twin Lilacs at a good deal to turn it into Lilac Inn. The attorney in charge of Twin Lilacs wanted to keep it in the family, so basically Gloria was the only one who could get it.”   
“Wow,” chorused the girls. They took another walk around the lawn, looking for any kind of clue as to where the secret passage could be hidden or any clues to the ghost, but none were found. They walked back to the house with a sad step, but Nancy figured her assumption was right and that they might find more the next day at the River Heights History Museum.


	6. The Historical Museum

Early the next morning, Nancy, Helen, and the twins had a quick breakfast and got on their way to the museum. Emily offered to stay behind to help Flora and Rosemary keep an eye on the house. She, like Helen, had already seen all of the Caldwell pieces and didn’t think it was necessary that they needed both of them to help, plus she wanted to visit some more with her grandmother. So she stayed, and the other four went in Nancy’s car.   
“So, Twin Elms has been in your family for a few generations now, huh?” said Ida.   
Helen nodded. “Yup, we’re almost as synonymous with Twin Elms as the Caldwells were.”   
“Your grandmother and aunt certainly are,” said Nancy. “Everyone calls them the Elms sisters because of this.”   
“And we now have the Lilac sisters!” said Ida.   
Helen looked at Ida. “Say what?”   
“Edna and Mary Turner!”   
“Oh, right!”   
“Oh, speaking of, can either one of you call Jane Willoughby and ask her and the Turners to keep an eye on things at Lilac Inn? If my hunch is correct, this ghost might be using the tunnel all the way back to Lilac Inn. Oh, and have them look in the attic for any personal items that used to belong to the Caldwells.”   
“On it!” said Ida as she whipped out her phone and began dialing.   
“I don’t think there is anything left that belongs to the Caldwells,” said Helen, “Aunt Gloria cleaned everything out.”   
“Well I’d rather be absolutely sure than to find out later she might have missed something that turns out to be important,” said Nancy.   
Helen nodded. “Understandable.” She turned in her seat, Ida was talking on the phone now with Jane Willoughby.   
“Yes, Nancy wants you to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity at Lilac Inn, and if you could, see of there's anything in the attic that could be a clue to the tunnel connecting the houses. We’re pretty sure the ghost is using that too. And just, be careful please, OK? We think there's two men in on it and there could be more. Plus, if they have access to both places through the tunnel, well, there's no telling where they are now and what they could do.” There was a pause as Ida listened. She brightened. “Thanks Jane, you're the best! We'll probably be by at some point . . .” Ida put her hand over the mouthpiece. “When will we be going by?”   
Nancy chuckled. “We'll be by tomorrow, if that's fine by her. I'm in no hurry to see Mr. Gomber so soon.”   
“Tell me about it,” mumbled Ida. She took her hand off the mouthpiece. “Jane? Nancy's thinking tomorrow. Will that be fine? Lunch?” Ida glanced at Nancy. Nancy chuckled and nodded. “Alright, lunch it is. See you tomorrow!” She hung up. “She's going to have the Turners take a look in the attic. They were going to clean it out anyway. Jane’s thinking of adding another room or two up there. Things have been pretty busy.”   
“That's wonderful!” exclaimed Nancy.  
“Oh, and I’ll talk to her tomorrow, but I need to make sure I get those rooms reserved for Katherine and her family.”   
Izzy nodded. “Good idea, they’ve been filling up fast.” She grinned at Nancy. “And I think that was partially your doing.”   
“Mine? How did I have a hand in it?”   
“Well, isn’t it obvious to a fine detective like yourself?” asked Ida.   
“Well, that was her first mystery,” said Helen.   
Ida chuckled. “True, sorry, but, since you have gotten rid of the, um, ghost, more people have been coming. That, and of course, the Turners have been a huge help to Jane.”   
“So,” began Helen slowly, a smile forming on her face, “when’s the wedding?”   
Ida and Izzy blinked. “Huh?”   
Nancy laughed. “One doesn’t need to be a detective to see that the Moreaus got one thing right, Jane and your father liking each other.”   
Ida and Izzy glanced at each other and burst out laughing. “Oh that,” said Izzy. “To be honest, we don’t know ourselves, but it could be within a year.”   
“And it will take place at Lilac Inn, and everyone’s invited!”   
“Ida, it’s not your wedding!”   
“I know, I know, but I’m pretty sure it is what Dad and Jane would want.”   
“So, um, from one girl who lost her mother to another, what’s it like knowing your father is going to remarry?”   
“Well, if it was anyone else besides Jane, I would freak out,” said Ida. “But, in a way, I’ve almost come to think of her as my mother. Have you, Izzy?”   
Izzy shrugged. “I don’t know, but I do agree that if it was anyone other than Jane, I’d be helping you break them up, like in Parent Trap.”   
“Oh yes.” Ida laughed.   
“Like The Parent Trap?” asked Helen while Nancy laughed.   
“Well yeah,” said Izzy, “we had this whole set of tricks set up in case we did come across some nasty woman who only wanted to marry our dad for his money.”   
Ida squealed. “And we've only gotten Jane, which is fantastic!” She tapped Nancy's shoulder. “So, if you need any traps or tricks to help you catch this ghost, just let us know. We still have all of the supplies.”   
“You're kidding?” exclaimed Helen.  
The twins shook their heads before bursting out laughing. “Oh no, we came here very prepared.”   
“Oh man,” said Helen with a shake of her head. Nancy was glad she finally pulled into the parking lot of the History Museum, she was beginning to tear up from laughing so hard.   
Ida gasped. “Is that the Historic Museum?” Nancy and Helen nodded.   
“Yup,” said Helen.   
“Aw, it’s so cute!” The Historic Museum was a quaint Victorian that looked to be freshly repainted and kept in tip top shape.   
“Is it one of the original houses in town?” asked Izzy as they got out of the car.   
“Yup,” said Nancy. “As a matter of fact, this house belonged to Henry Lamar, the founder of River Heights. His grandchildren donated it to the city so it could be preserved in his honor.”   
“Cool!” chorused the twins. The four walked towards the house and entered.   
“Oh, hello Nancy, hello Helen! I see you’ve brought your new friends to the museum!” said the woman at the front desk. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, her dark brown hair braided on top of her head and her grey eyes twinkling at them over silvery glasses. “Welcome! I’m sorry though, you just missed the tour. The next one won’t be for another half hour.”   
Nancy waved her hand. “That’s alright, Mrs. Ladd, we weren’t exactly coming for the tour. We just wanted to take a look at the Caldwell exhibit. We’ll do the tour another day.”   
Mrs. Ladd raised an eyebrow. “Just the Caldwell exhibit, huh? Wanting to look more into the history of Lilac Inn and its twin, Twin Elms?”   
Nancy grinned. “Something like that. Mrs. Hayes told us that just about anything they found pertaining to the Caldwells could be found here.”   
Mrs. Ladd nodded. “Well of course, the Historic Society wanted to preserve it all. The brothers weren’t big components of the Underground Railway, but they definitely helped quite a bit. Plus they helped out later years wherever they could. Those two men had hearts of gold.” She huffed. “Wish we had more people like them.” She smiled at the Tophams. “I’m certain you two will fit in quite well. You’re already friends with Nancy and Helen, and that’s good news indeed.”   
Ida wrapped an arm around Nancy. “Well, considering she did find our will and stopped those dreadful thieves from getting away with our inheritance, how could we not?”   
Izzy wrapped her arm around Nancy as well, pinning her between the twins. “Besides, I do believe Nancy is one of those people you like to see so much of, if I’m hearing the stories about the Caldwells right.”   
Mrs. Ladd chuckled. “You are so right! And that’s why seeing her friend group grow is such a wonderful sight. Nancy does like surrounding herself with equally kind-hearted people.”   
“So there you go, Nancy’s already drawing more of those types of people together!” exclaimed Ida.   
Mrs. Ladd gave a full laugh. “Fair enough, young lady. It really is such a wonderful sight.”   
“Um, Mrs. Ladd, as happy as I am to hear your approval of my friends, and I don’t want to be rude, but may we go now? We have other business to attend to and must be leaving as soon as we’ve finished looking at the exhibit.”   
Mrs. Ladd waved her hand. “Oh no need to be concerned! You’re not rude at all, I’m afraid I was getting a bit chatty and letting my thoughts run a mile a minute.” She smiled. “Now, don’t dwell too much on it. You wanted to visit the Caldwell exhibit, then head on through.”   
Nancy smiled. “Thank you Mrs. Ladd, we’ll see you in a bit.”   
“Enjoy!” called out Mrs. Ladd with a wave as the girls walked into the rest of the museum.   
Izzy glanced at Helen as they walked. “You were pretty quiet. You’re usually as chatty as she was.”   
“Something was wrong,” said Helen matter-of-factly. “I think she was making sure we didn’t run into the tour.”   
“Say what?” said Ida.   
Nancy just nodded. “I agree, there must have been someone on the tour she didn’t want us to run into.”   
“Say what?” exclaimed both twins.   
“How exactly can you be sure?”   
Helen looked Ida dead in the eye. “Because Mrs. Ladd’s favorite topic of talk isn’t history, it’s gossip. Something’s spooked her Nancy, and I’m worried.”   
“If she thinks the danger was with the tour group, then we should be fine. It should be moving on to the next room.”   
But doesn’t it have to come back through here?” asked Ida, looking at what was the sitting room.   
Helen and Nancy shook their heads. “The tour goes down the back stairs before heading back to the front,” explained Helen.   
“And most people will get something to eat or drink from the kitchen before leaving,” said Nancy. “The front office was set up in the dining room for that reason, so it could be more of a circular tour.”   
“Oh,” chorused the twins.   
“So Mrs. Ladd was sitting in the dining room,” said Ida.   
“Well, one half of it, anyway,” said Helen. The other half still functions like a dining room. Mrs. Lamar liked to entertain so they had an enormous dining room.”   
The twins nodded. “Got you,” said Izzy.   
“And here we are,” said Nancy, stopping in front of a display case. It looked like an old fashioned display case full of journals and pictures from a bygone era. Nancy opened the cabinet and handed Helen a few journals while the twins took a quick look around the room. It was set up like a regular sitting room, but there were more items. A few vases and a few statues were set up around the room along with more display cases. There was a pathway through it all, and Nancy and Helen led the way to a sofa. Helen handed each of them a journal.   
“Here, we’ve got quite a bit to read.”   
“You can skim most of it,” said Nancy as she opened her journal. “Just look for anything to do with building the houses or maybe even talking about helping the runaway slaves, if they even wrote about that.”   
“I highly doubt they would,” said Ida as she began to slip through her journal. “Most people wouldn’t have written about that for fear of their journals being found in a search.”   
“That is true,” said Izzy, “but many still did, as historians seem to be finding out. They do have the diary of a Railroad Conductor going into great detail about some of the families he helped.”   
“Well, then look for some of that too then, the Caldwells may have written about it, and they may not have,” said Nancy.   
“So house building and Underground Railroad, got it,” said Helen as she opened up her journal. There was nothing but the sound of the grandfather clock ticking away in one of the corners while the four skimmed through the journals. After several minutes, Helen finished first as she let out a sniff and closed her journal.   
“I didn’t find anything, besides the fact that Adam loved Rachel very very much.”   
“Helen, we just needed info about the houses.”   
“I know, I know, but it really is so sad. You could tell he was heartbroken after she was murdered.”   
“Which is really sad, they sounded like they were so in love,” said Ida.   
“Wait, Emily told you about the Caldwells?” asked Emily.   
Ida nodded. “She had to, to explain the ‘ghost sighting’ at Lilac Inn.”   
“Ah.” Helen let out a huff. “So, anybody else?”  
Nancy shook her head. “Nothing.”   
Izzy groaned. “Nothing but nothing,” she said as she closed the journal she had been reading.   
“Well, I wouldn’t say nothing,” said Ida, “Jim was pretty good at writing poetry.” The other three groaned before they burst out laughing.   
“Well, that’s good to know,” said Helen. She glanced at Nancy, who had become rather thoughtful. She had read some of Jim’s poems and Ida was right. Was the answer there this whole time? “Hey Nance, what are you thinking?”   
Nancy snapped out of her musings. “Oh, just hoping we’ll find the clues we’re looking for. Maybe the letters will give us a better idea.”   
Helen stood up and picked up the journals. “Good idea.” Nancy followed her back to the display case. They picked up the journals and grabbed a stack of letters. They divvied them out when they got back to the sofa. A few more moments of silence reigned except for the sound of rustling papers and the chimes of the grandfather clock. Nancy interrupted the silence with a loud groan.   
“Oh no!”   
“What?” chorused the others as they crowded around her.   
She showed them a letter. “This is a letter from Adam to Jim while he was in Springfield getting supplies for the houses. But Jim’s letter was burned!”   
“What?” exclaimed the others.   
Nancy nodded. “Listen to this. ‘Dearest brother, I like your ideas for the secret passages, even where the hidden openings should be. However, I think we should never speak of this to each other again in letters nor mention them in our diaries. With the war looming before us, I do not want to risk anyone finding out about this. Helping runaway slaves is a risk in and of itself, let alone building secret passages to hide them. By the time you have read this, I will have memorized your letter and have burned it. I hope you understand. However, in the meantime, why don’t you put that poetry-writing of yours to good use? Hide our secrets in your poems, Jim, you have the talents and the brains to do it. Do not reveal the poems to me until I’ve returned and let me see if I can figure it out. We want it hard for others to figure it out, but not too hard for us or our descendants. I shall be finishing up here soon. Please give my love to Rachel and the children, I will be seeing you all son. All my love, Adam.”   
“No way,” said Izzy. “The answer has to be in the book of poems!”   
Ida jumped up. “Yes! Let’s go get it right now!”   
“First we have to return these letters to the display case. The rule is that if you take any of these out you have to put them back or you’re not allowed back in the museum for a couple of months.” She and Helen gathered up the pages very carefully and brought them back to the display case.   
“Wow,” said Izzy as she and Ida followed them, “all this time and we could have just gotten the poem book.”   
“Well, we weren’t sure if there was a clue in anything else, but since this letter absolutely confirms it, we’ll head over to Lilac Inn right away.” Nancy quickly closed the case and locked it. She turned and looked at her friends with a twinkle in her eyes. “Come on!” She took a step forward, and a statue began to teeter at the same time.   
“Nancy, look out!” Izzy rammed into Nancy, tackling her to the ground while Helen and Ida jumped to the side. The statue fell, shattering into a thousand pieces as it hit the floor. A dark clad figure darted out from behind the column and dashed to the front.   
“Mrs. Ladd! Mrs. Ladd! Stop him! Help! Security!” shouted Nancy as she got out to pursue the figure.   
“Wait, Nancy!” shouted Helen as she was getting up. Izzy and Ida were already up and following her out the door.   
“Good heavens! Whatever is the matter!” exclaimed Mrs. Ladd as she came towards the girls, worry creased on her forehead.   
“Did you let that man get away?” asked Nancy as she rushed past her to get to the front door.   
“Why, why yes! Your safety is more important!”  
“Oh Mrs. Ladd! He tried to kill Nancy with one of the statues!” exclaimed Helen when she came in. “Thankfully Izzy pushed her out of the way, but the statue broke!”   
Mrs. Ladd threw her hands to her face with horror. “What! Oh, oh, oh no! I have to call security! And I need you to stay here to file a report!”   
Nancy and Izzy stepped out to take a look around, but they came back in. “He’s long gone by now,” mumbled Izzy.   
Nancy gasped. “And he heard about the book of poems!” She turned to the twins. “Quick, call Lilac Inn! Tell Jane and the Turners to hide that book pronto!”   
Ida whipped out her phone and dialed the number. “Jane! Hi! We have a dilemma. You know that book of poems by Jim Caldwell that’s in the living room? Well Nancy found a clue that says the clue to the secret passages can be found there. We need you to grab it and hide it right away!” Ida pulled the phone away from her mouth. “Jane’s on it!”   
Nancy heaved a sigh. “Thank goodness, because it’s going to be a while before we can leave.”   
“Wait, what’s that Jane? Say what? It’s gone?” Ida looked at Nancy, unsure what to say. Nancy blanched and her eyes widened.   
Helen gasped. “Oh no, we’re too late!”


	7. Another Attempt

The four girls had to stay at the museum until the police finished their investigation. That took a greater part of the day. They did find out that Mrs. Ladd had kept them from meeting up with the tour group as the guy had asked her to let him know when Nancy Drew would arrive. Mrs. Ladd had simply told him that she could do no such thing, there was no way to contact the tour. The guy mumbled in understanding, but for some reason he had rubbed her off the wrong way, hence why she stalled the four girls. Helen was immensely grateful for the delay, who knew what the guy would have done had he known when the girls arrived. Nancy, however, wasn’t as pleased. Here was the perfect chance to catch one of the guys, and it slipped through her fingers! But she did forgive Mrs. Ladd, she was acting out of the goodness of her heart, after all. That didn’t stop her from complaining about it on the way back to Twin Elms, though.   
“Of all the rotten luck!” She hit the side of the wheel in her frustration. “We could have called in the police and caught the guy! Ugh!”   
“Mrs. Ladd didn’t know about that,” said Helen, “otherwise she would have called the police.”   
Izzy leaned forward in her seat and patted Nancy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll catch those crooks yet. Wouldn’t it be even better if we caught both of them?”   
Nancy sighed. “Yeah, it would.”   
“Besides, think of it this way, if we were in a book or a movie, it would have been too early to catch them,” quipped Ida. “You have only just started on this mystery.”   
Nancy burst out laughing, followed by the others. “What chapter are we in now? Four?”   
Ida thought for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, that sounds about right.” They laughed some more.   
“Thanks, I needed that,” said Nancy.   
“Good, glad it helped. We don’t need you so focused on what could have been a great breakthrough that you miss the next, maybe even bigger breakthrough,” said Ida knowingly.   
Helen scoffed. “You’re saying that after you’ve only known Nancy for a week?”   
“Yes, and she’s quite impressed us with her detective skills, duh,” said Izzy. “Stuff like that sticks with you.” She glanced at her twin. “Besides, Ida’s pretty good at picking up little cues and reading people like that.”   
“Oh,” said Nancy, surprised but quite pleased with this new information. “That’s good to know.”   
Ida chuckled. “My abilities are at your service, Miss Holmes.”   
Nancy laughed. “Just like your traps?”   
“You can definitely count on us for that, especially with catching any criminals you need to catch if the police aren’t there to catch them,” said Izzy. “But we will need to know where the trap is going to be set up, certain traps need a certain amount of space.”   
“Good to know,” said Nancy with a slight nod. “And since this opportunity slipped through our fingers, be ready with those traps, because I don’t want to lose the next one.”   
Helen nodded. “Totally agree on that.”   
Ida let out a huff. “But how can we get that if they have the book?”   
Nancy let out a huff too. “I guess we’re going to have to do it the old-fashioned way, check everything and keep an eye out for any clues our ‘ghost’ leaves behind. But that means we’re going to have to be on high alert and have our eyes peeled. Anything we find will be considered a clue until proven otherwise. I don’t want to take any chances and miss something important.”   
The twins nodded. “Right.”   
Helen glanced at her quizzically. “But what happens if a clue sends us on a wild goose chase? Wouldn’t that just waste our time?”   
Nancy smiled. “That’s what having a group of people helping me is all about. We could split up in teams and have each team handle a clue. With all of us working on it, we’ll narrow things down and surround the culprits.”   
“Oh yeah, I like the sound of that,” said Izzy with a huge grin.   
Ida squealed and clapped her hands. “This is going to be so much more fun than catching the guy back at the museum!”   
Helen turned in her seat slowly and glanced at the twins in shock before turning to Nancy. “Well, you’ve found the perfect pair of sidekicks.”   
Nancy chuckled. “I have the best group of friends in the whole world!” She paused for a moment. “Well, except for the Hardys. They have a great group of friends too.”   
Izzy laughed. “Then we had better meet up one of these days and become the best group in the entire world for sure!”   
Helen let out a low whistle. “That’s going to be a lot of people. There’s, what, ten, fifteen people that they know?”   
Nancy shrugged. “And they might be meeting more.” She smiled at the twins in the rearview mirror. “Like I am.”   
Helen scoffed. “We might need a stadium by the time you three are done meeting people.”   
Nancy laughed. “That might be true. But we’ll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, we have to plan our next move, and I think we’d better start planning in the car, who knows if our ghost is present for some of these meetings.”   
Helen shivered. “No kidding. And now I’m agreeing with you Nancy, we really should have had that opportunity to capture him. It would have made things so much easier for Grandma and Aunt Flora!”   
Nancy nodded. “Right, but it’s long gone now, and as Izzy pointed out, it’s no use getting upset over what could have been. We just have to keep looking for clues and hopefully end this all quickly.”   
The others nodded. “Right!”   
Nancy grinned at each one. “Great! Now all we have to do is call in Jenny and the guys, and we’ll be set!”   
Ida squealed and clapped her hands. “Ooh, yes, this really will be fun!”   
Izzy laughed. “I think it will be too! But for obviously different reasons.” Her brown eyes sparkled.   
Nancy chuckled. “Obviously.”   
Helen sighed. “Well I’m glad some of you are going to enjoy this. I’ll just be glad when this is all over and grandma and Aunt Flora can get back to their normal way of life.”   
“Oh believe you me, I want that for them too, but first . . .” Here Nancy paused. She was pulling into the driveway at Twin Elms and there was an unknown truck parked in the driveway. Had Nathan Gomber come by, hoping to swindle the sisters while Nancy was out? Then she saw the logo on the side of the truck and heaved a sigh of relief.   
“Why, that’s a truck from the Matthews’ farm! Why are they here?” said Helen.   
“Oooh, maybe that handsome farm hand is here too!”   
Helen sighed. “Richard Matthews is the eldest son of William and Nadia Matthews, not just a farm hand.” Then she smirked. “But he is definitely handsome.” She winked at Nancy. “Wouldn’t you say so too? Even though dark-haired guys are more your type.”   
The twins snickered while Nancy blushed. “Helen, really, now’s not the time!” she hissed. She had parked and was unbuckling. “Let’s find out what’s going on.”   
Helen nodded, becoming serious, though a playful twinkle lingered in her eyes “Yes, let’s.” The four got out of the car and walked towards the front door, right as the two Matthews brothers and Richard came out of the house, followed by Rosemary and Emily. Everyone was smiling.   
“What’s this?” asked Ida as they stopped at the door. “Did someone pop out the rainbows and forget to invite me?”   
Emily laughed. “No Ida, you’re just in time, in fact!” She quickly introduced the Matthews family to the Tophams. She continued on to explain their presence. “I talked it over with Jane, and she agreed, we’re going to start using products from the Matthews farm!”   
“Oh, that’s great news!” exclaimed Helen and hugged her. She backed up from the hug and glanced between Emily and the Matthews’s. “But what brought about this decision?”   
“Well, first of all, I have the money to do so now. With Mom’s medical bills . . .” Emily bit her lip and let out a shaky breath. “Well, we couldn’t do it before. It might not seem like it was that much, but with as much as we went through, it added up quickly. Not that buying groceries in general doesn’t, but Mom found out that buying from the grocery store instead of local was cheaper.”   
William sighed and nodded. “This is unfortunately true.”  
“But your products are of higher quality, so you should expect a little bit more for your products than the stuff we find at the store,” pointed out Rosemary.   
Fred nodded. “She has a point, Will.”   
William rolled his eyes. “Fred, be quiet.” Fred smirked, but he kept quiet.   
Emily huffed. “Anyways, Grandma and Aunt Rosemary were talking about how to keep getting their regular supplies since Aunt Rosemary didn’t want to leave Grandma, and we’re trying to solve the mystery.” She winced as she turned to Nancy. “I did have to tell them some of it, just to let them know.”   
Nancy sighed. “I understand.” She glanced at the three men. “But why are they here?”   
Fred seemed to puff out his chest. “Well, we talked about it, and we figured that since these lovely women have been our most steadfast and loyal customers for the past forty years, they’ve earned a few free trips.”   
William smiled. “So we packed up their order and came out here.” He turned to Rosemary and Emily. “And we gave them quite the startle, I’m afraid. I’m real sorry about that.”   
Rosemary waved her hand. “You’ve said sorry plenty enough! You didn’t know the extent of our, ah, situation, and we had no idea you were coming. Startling someone is only the natural outcome of that.”   
“So we invited them in and I began to talk to them about delivering to Lilac Inn as well,” said Emily. “As a matter of fact, we were thinking of heading over there to talk to Jane about it.” She chuckled. “I called her to let her know we’re coming.”   
Fred patted her shoulder. “A much wiser move than the one we made.”   
Richard chuckled. “Mom did warn you about that.”   
William nodded and huffed. “I know, I know, but we wanted to surprise them.”   
“And what a wonderful surprise it was!” said Rosemary. “Flora and I can’t thank you enough!”   
William chuckled. “No need.” He glanced at Emily. “Well, we should get to Lilac Inn, we’re going to need to go over all the details as quickly as possible, the three of us have to be back at the farm before nightfall.”   
Emily nodded. “Yes, let’s get going!”   
“Oh, can I come with you?” asked Ida sweetly as she fluttered her eyelashes at Richard.   
Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes. “Come on Emily, we’ll take you to Lilac Inn.”   
“I’d come with you. . .” began Helen. Nancy rolled her eyes. “But someone’s gotta stay here and help Nancy look after the house.” She gave a little shudder. “And the ghost.”   
“Look for the ghost, you mean. We’re not exactly running another Lilac Inn,” said Nancy. Helen grinned sheepishly. Nancy chuckled. “But the help will be appreciated. Oh, speaking of,” she turned to the Matthews’s, “will you be willing to help us catch the ghost?”   
William nodded. “We’ll do our best.”   
Fred slammed his fist into his palm. “I’d like to have a few rounds with the guy. No one should pester these wonderful women!”   
Richard gave her a bow. “Just give me a call and I am at your command, mi’lady.”   
“Oooh,” chorused the twins.   
Nancy scoffed as she waved away the taunt. “Oh get over it.” She turned to Richard. “Thank you, he’s already given us the slip today and . . .” She paused as she gasped and her eyes widened. “Oh! I know! While you three are at Lilac Inn, please look for clues! Don’t overlook anything! Even if you think it could be nothing.”   
The twins saluted her. “Aye aye captain!”   
Richard also gave the salute. “I shall do my very best.”   
Nancy smiled. “Wonderful, thank you!” She turned to Helen. “Meanwhile, we’ll come up with a few plans and take a look around the yard again. Maybe something will stick out at us.”  
Helen let out a huff. “I hope so.”   
“Well then, we’re off to hunt at Lilac Inn!” said Izzy with a wave of her hand. The group said goodbye before going their separate ways. Nancy and Helen followed Rosemary into the house and checked up on Flora before heading up to the attic. Rosemary insisted on coming with them to help look for clues, and the teens obliged. Though they were unsure of leaving Flora all by herself, the two were actually kind of happy for the extra pair of eyes. Rosemary made sure Flora was comfortable and got her a book to read before joining the girls in the search. After a thorough search of the attic, they went back down the stairs to check on Flora before heading out to the yard. Nancy surveyed the land first, her mind thinking hard and fast. Where would a trap door be hidden? How could it be accessed? Could it in fact be opened only by one side?   
“What are you thinking about?” asked Rosemary, interrupting her thoughts.   
“I’m trying to visualize where a trap door could be . . . if there even is one out here. There might be one somewhere else . . .” She paused, looking around. “Aunt Rosemary?”   
“Yes?”   
“This is a pre-Civil War house . . .”   
Rosemary and Helen glanced at each other before Rosemary answered, “Yes.”   
“Shouldn’t there be other buildings on the property?”   
Rosemary blinked. “You mean like the servants’ quarters, the outhouse, and whatnot?”   
Nancy nodded. “Yes, yes! Where are they? Or, should I say, where they used to be?”  
“Well, the outhouse was taken out first, obviously, when plumbing was put into the house.” Rosemary paused, thinking hard. “I . . . know the servants quarters were taken down not long afterwards. My father was a rather particular man and didn’t want something there was no more use for, like the outhouse. Once we got the indoor plumbing, that was taken down immediately. I think it was only a couple of years later that the servants’ quarters were also taken down.” She smiled. “Our renowned historical society wasn’t around at that time, they would have fought tooth and nail to keep those.” She chuckled. “And my father would have fought them for sure, he saw no more use for them and wanted them off his property.” She winced. “As for where they used to be . . . well, my father got rid of them when I was rather young, so I can’t be quite sure of their original locations.” She thought for a moment. “But, I can try to show you the approximate area where they might have been.”   
“What about Aunt Flora?” asked Nancy. “Would she have a better idea of where they used to be located?”   
“No, not really,” said Rosemary with a shake of her head, “this all happened when she was six and I was five. Neither one of us remembers much about that time, I can assure you.”   
Nancy puffed up her cheeks before letting out a breath. “Alright, show me what you can.”   
Rosemary nodded. “I’ll do my best, darling, but no guarantees.”   
Nancy nodded. “It’s fine, I’ll take what I can get.”   
Rosemary huffed. “Alright, well, let’s see if my memory will serve me well enough.” She took them to a few places, there had only been a few other buildings besides the main house. Nancy went over the ground thoroughly at each spot with help from Helen and Rosemary, but didn't find anything. Nancy's spirit began to sink, but she became even more determined in spite of it. The entrance might not even be on the property. Where then would it be?   
“Oh man, it's getting late,” said Helen with a tired huff as she wiped her brow.   
“We should get inside, we’ve left Flora for longer than I would have liked,” said Rosemary. “Besides, it's time to start on dinner.”  
Nancy nodded. “I think we’ve looked at all that we could. We’ll try again tomorrow.” The three made their way back into the house. Flora was still reading her book. She only glanced up when she heard them coming in and smiled at them before returning to reading. Nancy and Helen helped Rosemary get started on dinner when the others returned. Just like them, the group turned up empty-handed in their search. They were all feeling a little down because of the failure, but Rosemary and Flora got them laughing with tales from their youth. They went to bed on a high note, hoping and praying they would get a break in the morning.   
Nancy woke up with a start around midnight. Was it her imagination, or did she hear something? She listened for a second, and when she heard nothing else, turned over to go back to sleep. But she definitely heard the screaming that came from the next room. She was up and out the door by the time Helen woke up and realized something was wrong. She was joined by Ida, Izzy, and Rosemary in the hall. Everyone rushed into the room where Emily and Flora were sharing.   
“Emily? Flora? What's wrong?” asked Rosemary, concerned. Emily was out of her bed and standing by Flora’s bed, quivering like a leaf.   
“Look!” Emily pointed at the top of the fireplace. Everyone turned their heads. A pair of reddish eyes were staring back at them!


	8. One Night Guests

Nancy knew Helen had entered the room when she let out a loud shriek. Another shriek followed. Nancy blinked. That had to have come from the red-eyed creature!  
“Helen, turn on the light!” The room was instantly flooded with light, and they heard the shriek again. The owl sitting on the fireplace flapped its wings in annoyance as it blinked.  
“Why, it’s an owl!” exclaimed Ida.  
“And I think we just made it madder,” mumbled Izzy.  
“How in the world did it get in here?” asked Rosemary.  
“I-I don’t know!” stuttered Emily. “All I know is some noise woke me up, and I saw its eyes staring right back at me!”  
Rosemary quickly went to her and hugged her. “Oh you poor dear, what a fright! From now on, you two are staying with me in my room, until we’ve sorted this whole thing out.”  
Nancy nodded. “Good idea. Aunt Rosemary, Helen, can you help Emily and Aunt Flora get situated? Ida, Izzy, and I will deal with the owl.” She turned and looked at the bird, particularly its sharp talons and beak. “Um, Aunt Rosemary?”  
“Yes, dear?”  
“Do you have any thick gloves?”  
Rosemary nodded. “Flora and I each have two pairs of gardening gloves. I’ll get you a pair.”  
“Get me two please, in case I need help with it,” said Nancy. Rosemary just nodded and left the room. Helen was helping Emily get Flora out of bed and into Rosemary’s room, with Ida making sure the way was clear. That left Nancy and Izzy to watch the owl.  
“And here I was thinking all owls went ‘hoo hoo’.” said Izzy. “This one shrieks like us girls!”  
Nancy snorted. “Yeah, you learn something new every day.”  
Izzy scoffed. “Yeah, I just wish it didn’t nearly scare Emily and Aunt Flora to death while doing it.”  
Nancy let out a breath. “No argument there.” She went to the window. “It’s locked.” She unlocked it and opened it. She stepped back to Izzy’s side and glanced at the owl. “So then could you tell us how you got in here?” She squinted her eyes at the fireplace, trying to see if there was a stone out of place. “There’s got to be a secret passage that comes directly into this room. Our little friend here could have gone anywhere else in the house if he was brought in through the attic.”  
Izzy nodded slowly. “That sounds reasonable, but if our friendly little ghost had a good hold on him, he still could have brought him in here from the attic.”  
Nancy tilted her head and puckered up her lips. “Mm, that’s a good point, but judging by the size of that owl and how mad it looks, I wouldn’t bet on it.”  
“Well it could only be mad now because we turned on the light and cooperated quite well with our ghost,” pointed out Izzy. “That, and, don’t owls look mad all the time?”  
Nancy chuckled. “That is true.”  
Rosemary came in at that moment. “I’ve found them!” Nancy quickly took a pair of gloves and Izzy took the other. Helen and Ida came back in a second later.  
“Aunt Flora would like some of her things in your room, if that’s alright with you, Grandma.”  
“Oh of course! Let me help you with that, dear.” The two went about the room, gathering some of Flora’s things.  
Ida turned to Nancy and izzy as they finished pulling on the gloves. “Do you need any help?”  
“I’ve already unlocked and opened the window. If you could just make sure it stays open, that would be great,” said Nancy. “I might need Izzy’s help at any point to get our little friend here over there.”  
Ida gave a quick nod. “Right.” She quickly went over to the window.  
Nancy let out a little huff as she glanced at the owl. “Alright, here goes.” She glanced at izzy. “You ready?”  
Izzy shrugged. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s hurry it up and get this over with.”  
“Yes, let’s.” Nancy walked slowly towards the owl, it watched her every move. It blinked, and Nancy’s arms shot out, pinning its wings firmly to its sides. It shrieked in surprise and seemed to get even more angry. Izzy quickly moved around to Nancy’s side as the bird began to squirm. Nancy grunted, the thing was stronger than it looked. “Come on, we all want you to go outside, and I’m sure you do too.” It looked at her right before it began pecking at her exposed skin, right above the gloves. Nancy hissed in pain. Izzy quickly grabbed its head, firmly but gently, to stop the attack on Nancy’s arms. It really began to scream then. Nancy and Izzy winced, nearly letting go of the bird, but they caught themselves. The other three clamped their hands over their ears.  
“Hurry it up!” shouted Ida. Nancy and Izzy began moving again, going as quickly as possible. Ida turned to the window and made sure there was enough room for the bird to get out before moving out of their way. Izzy let go of the bird first, and it went back to pecking Nancy’s arms. She quickly set it on the sill. When it realized it was close to freedom, it spread its wings and took off into the night sky. Nancy quickly closed and locked the window. There was a moment of silence before everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief.  
“I am so glad we’re not so close to anyone,” said Rosemary. “Our neighbors would have thought we were killing someone with the way that bird was screaming!”  
Nancy chuckled as she pulled off the gloves. “Oh, I’m sure everything would have righted itself once they found out we were just getting a feathered intruder back out into its environment.”  
Helen gasped. “Oh, Nancy! You’re bleeding!”  
Rosemary gasped when she saw Nancy’s arms. “Oh my! We should get that taken care of right away!”  
Izzy began pulling her gloves off her hands. “I’ll take care of it, Aunt Rosemary. Where’s your first aid kit?”  
“It’s in the bathroom,” said Rosemary as she took the gloves from them. “I’ll pick these up then.”  
Izzy smiled. “Thanks.” She turned to Nancy. “Come along, soldier, let’s get you bandaged up.”  
Nancy wanted to say something witty, but she could feel her arms were beginning to throb. She merely nodded. “Yeah, let’s.” She followed Izzy to the bathroom where she quickly found the first aid kit. Izzy began bandaging her arms. “Thanks for doing this,” said Nancy.  
Izzy waved it off. “Don’t mention it. Figured Aunt Rosemary should focus on finishing up getting Aunts Flora’s things into her room. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get some sleep tonight.”  
Nancy chuckled before letting out a big yawn. “Yeah, actually, same.”  
Izzy chuckled. “I figured as much.” She quickly finished up her work and the two went out into the hall. They found that Rosemary, Flora, and Emily were settling down for the rest of the night while Ida and Helen had stayed up to wait for them to come back. The four bade each other good night before going to their rooms. As soon as their heads hit the pillows, they were sound asleep. The rest of the night proved to be peaceful, so peaceful that everyone slept in until mid morning. They probably would have slept in even later had the phone not begun ringing.  
Everyone rubbed their eyes and rolled over in bed. Nancy could hear Rosemary's voice as she answered the phone. She yawned and stretched, thinking that she would get out of bed. She ended up just rolling over and closing her eyes.  
“Nancy!” Nancy gasped and jumped out of bed. Helen quickly sat up in bed.  
“Grandma?” She got out of bed and followed Nancy to Rosemary’s room. Emily and Flora were sitting up in bed, watching Rosemary. A grin spread on Rosemary’s face when Nancy entered the room, the phone to her ear.  
“Ah, here she is.”  
Nancy raised her eyebrow. “Who is it?” she asked as she walked towards the bed Rosemary was sitting on.  
Rosemary chuckled as she handed the phone to her. “Your father.”  
Nancy gasped as she took the phone from Rosemary and put it to her ear. “Dad?”  
Carson’s voice came over the phone in a soft chuckle. “Did I wake you sleeping beauties from your beauty sleep?”  
Nancy chuckled. “Well, I guess so.”  
“You guess so? You don’t even know if you were sleeping just a minute ago?”  
“Dad! It’s Saturday”  
Carson laughed. “I know, I know, a bad dad joke.”  
“Besides, it’s Saturday, we always sleep in late on Saturdays.”  
“Yes, a bad habit you’re going to have to break soon, young lady.”  
“But if you were calling about that, why are you calling the house instead of my cell?”  
“Well, I have to head to Chicago tomorrow morning to meet with my clients, and I wanted to ask your wonderful hostesses if I could spend the night there before heading out after church. I mean, yes, it will be a very full house, but I can sleep on the couch, that’s not a problem.”  
“On the couch?” asked Nancy, shooting a glance at Rosemary.  
Rosemary sighed and nodded, though her eyes sparkled. “Yes, it will have to do.” She glanced at Flora. “And we’re perfectly fine with your father coming over.”  
Nancy smiled, grateful for the info. “Great!”  
“Well then, sounds like we have a plan. Since you’re all just getting up now, I’ll come by at noon. We can have lunch and you can tell me all the progress you’ve made on the mystery. I’d better get back to packing, though, or Hannah will kill me.” There was a snort. “She’s already giving me the death glare.”  
“Carson! Come on! I’m not getting paid enough to be your mama!” Hannah’s voice was loud enough for Nancy to hear.  
“Oh, but you do pack my bags so nicely,” Carson told her.  
“Then get over here and learn how to do it properly, and then there’ll be two of us who can pack your bags oh so nicely!”  
Carson chuckled. “Alright, alright, I’m coming. I’ll see you at lunch Nancy. Love you!”  
“See you then! Love you too, Dad!” Nancy returned the phone to its base.  
“So you’re dad’s coming over?” asked Helen.  
Nancy nodded. “Yup, but he’s leaving in the morning for Chicago.”  
Emily sighed with relief. “One night’s better than none. Maybe he can find a clue!”  
Nancy smiled. “I certainly hope so. But if not, I hope we’ll have found one or even solve it before he gets back.”  
“That’s going to depend on how long he’s gone,” said Helen.  
Nancy grinned. “Well then, guess we’ll find out at lunch.”  
When Carson arrived at Twin Elms, everything was ready and waiting for him. There were blankets by the sofa with a couple of extra pillows, plus a bath towel if he wanted to take a shower in the morning. Meanwhile, the girls were going over Flora’s room again. Nancy felt positive that there was a secret entrance in FLora’s room, there was no other way around that. The ‘ghost’ had ‘played’ around with the chandelier, stole Flora’s most valuable jewelry, and got away before Nancy could even get up the stairs. Then he was able to get an owl into Flora’s room without it flying away from him. Sure, he might have been stronger than Nancy and had better protection, but even that bird would have eventually won given enough time. But they still weren’t finding anything. What was Nancy missing?  
A gentle rapping was heard on the doorframe. The girls paused in the search to see who was interrupting them. Nancy jumped up with a joyous shout.  
“Dad!” She hugged her father lovingly. “I’m so glad you’re here!”  
Carson chuckled. “Well now, I couldn’t exactly leave for Chicago without saying goodbye to my daughter, now, could I?”  
Nancy shook her head. “Nope, I would have followed you to get my goodbye hug and kiss.”  
Carson laughed. “Yes, I know. And so I’m here. What progress have you made?”  
Nancy huffed in frustration. “I feel like for every step I take forward, I get pushed back two!”  
Carson raised an eyebrow. “This is proving to be a difficult one, isn’t it?”  
“Only because our little ghost seems to have these secret passages memorized and we don’t,” muttered Izzy.  
“And he stole the book of poems that had the clues to their location from Lilac Inn!” added Emily.  
Carson nodded thoughtfully. “Seems to me this guy is pretty thorough and pretty smart.”  
Izzy scoffed. “Not smart enough. If he really wanted to have us believe there was a real ghost, he wouldn’t have stolen jewelry and let an owl in here.”  
Carson glanced between the girls, his eyes widening. “There was an owl in here?” The girls nodded.  
“Just last night,” said Emily with a slight shiver.  
“Hey, lunch is ready!” came Rosemary’s voice from the first floor.  
Carson grinned sheepishly. “Oh, oops, I was supposed to let you know that, but I think I got caught up in learning more about the mystery. Come on, you can tell me all about it over lunch.” That’s when he noticed the bandages on Nancy’s arms. “Nancy, what happened?”  
Nancy chuckled nervously. “That’s part of the story. Come on, let’s not keep Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Flora waiting.” They went downstairs to eat lunch and everyone told him everything that had happened in the past few days. Once they had finished their tale and the dishes had been cleared, Carson sat on the sofa, thinking. Nancy started to become a little worried. Would her father take her off the case simply because the owl had harmed her? That didn’t make sense, nor did it really seem fair, but she kept quiet just in case her father was thinking along different lines, lines she hoped she was thinking along as well.  
Rosemary was the one who broke the silence with clearing her throat. “Mr. Drew, may I ask what you are thinking?”  
Carson smiled. “Of course you may. I was just trying to figure out where a secret passage might be hidden.” He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his greying hair. “Unfortunately that tended to be more of my wife’s speciality and a friend of ours out east. The two of them could practically pinpoint where a secret passage was hidden much more quickly than most.” He glanced at Nancy as his smile softened. “And I hope they passed that ability on to their children.”  
Nancy huffed. “Well, I haven’t had much luck.”  
Carson chuckled. “Give it some time, I’m sure you’ll find it real soon.”  
“Mr. Drew, do you think you’d be able to help us look real quick before dinner?” asked Emily.  
Carson nodded. “Of course! A fresh pair of eyes might be just what you need.” He pointed at each of the girls. “And I expect each of you to take a break at some point. Nothing like looking at something in a whole new way after taking a good break.”  
Nancy nodded. “Good idea, maybe tomorrow since it is Sunday and we have been hard at it the past few days.”  
Carson nodded. “That’s good, and from the sounds of it, yes you have.”  
Helen raised her arm, excited. “Oh, oh, I know! Let’s have a picnic and we’ll invite Jenny and the guys!”  
Ida squealed. “I second this notion!”  
“Of course you do,” said Izzy, smirking.  
“Oh, maybe we can do it on the grounds of Riverview Manor!” suggested Emily.  
“We definitely should! I’ll call Daddy right away and ask!” said Ida, getting up from the sofa and walking into the dining room, dialing her father’s number on her phone.  
“But I don’t want to leave Grandma and Aunt Flora alone,” began Helen.  
Rosemary scoffed. “Oh goodness, we’ve been living in this house with this ghost for a few weeks now, we’ll be fine.”  
“But the ghost might try something even worse while we’re gone,” pointed out Emily. “A house can be fixed up again, but I . . . I don’t think I’m ready to lose you yet.”  
Flora wrapped her arms around her granddaughter. “Oh darling, we’re a little more stubborn than that.”  
Carson snapped his fingers. “I have it! Why don’t you two have lunch at Lilac Inn while they’re on their picnic?”  
Rosemary thought about it. “Well,” she began hesitantly, “I mean, that’s not a bad idea, but . . .”  
Flora grunted. “Rosemary, let’s just go. We’ll get to meet those wonderful women who have stepped up to help Emily run Lilac Inn, plus I’ll finally be able to get out of the house besides church and appointments.”  
Rosemary huffed and shrugged. “You have a point. Fine, we’ll go to Lilac Inn.” The girls sighed with relief.  
“Thank you!” Emily hugged Flora, Carson, and Rosemary. Ida came back into the room with a bounce and a squeal.  
“Daddy said yes!”  
Nancy smiled. “Well then, looks like our day’s covered.” Her eyes met her father’s, and they seemed to have the same thought. With everyone out of the house, what would the ghost do?


	9. Break for a Picnic, Sorta

After church the next day, Carson said farewell to Nancy and left for Chicago. She felt sad for a bit, like she always did whenever her father left to go on business, but that was quickly forgotten, especially when it came time for the picnic. Helen had taken care of inviting everyone while Emily and Izzy handled the picnic preparations, for the most part. They made sure everyone knew to bring a little something to share. The girls themselves made sandwiches to bring to the picnic. But while Nancy was helping make sandwiches, a thought crossed her mind. She shared Rosemary’s concern for leaving the house unattended, but the majority of the time, the hauntings only happen when someone was there. So far, that she noticed anyways. She pursed her lips. Would anything happen while they were all gone? It would be easier for the ghost to create havoc in an empty house, that’s for sure. But would he take advantage of that, or just try to scare everyone when they were in the house?   
“Nancy!”   
Nancy jumped and glanced at Helen, hands on her hips. “What?”   
“I know that look. Your dad suggested the break, so take a break!”   
Nancy chuckled sheepishly. “Oh, alright.” But her mind was made up at that point, she had formed a plan and she was going to act upon it. Once they finished making the sandwiches, Nancy offered to take them out to the car and wait for the others. Ida wanted to spruce herself up a little bit more, Izzy mumbling about her twin trying to catch some guy’s eye.   
“It’s not like we’re in our thirties or something,” she mumbled before going to help. Emily and Helen went to help Rosemary get Flora to the car. That gave Nancy the time she needed to put her plan into action.   
As soon as she placed the sandwiches in the trunk, she slid behind the wheel and called the police station.   
“Chief McGinnis speaking, what do you need Nancy?”  
Nancy gasped. “Why Chief McGinnis!”   
“What? Your dad told me about your case and . . . shoot.”   
Nancy sighed. “He asked you to keep an eye on me while he was gone.”   
McGinnis chuckled nervously. “Couldn’t tell him no, now could I? But enough of that. What were you calling me for?”   
Nancy quickly explained the situation. “All I’m asking is for you to either have one of your men check up on the house from time to time or post a man here until we get back. And don’t worry about going into the house. I just want to be sure that this so-called ghost isn’t coming in from an outside point.”   
“Eliminating your culprit’s paths, good. I’ll be sure to send a man out there and I’ll have him report his findings to you.”   
“Thanks Chief!”   
“Now, one question . . .”   
Nancy gulped. Now what? “Yeah?”   
“Do you want him to report to you discreetly, or have him report in front of everyone in the house?”   
Nancy drummed her fingers on her chin, thinking. “Good question . . . if I walk around the grounds, that means he should do it discreetly. If I wave at him from the house, that means he should report in front of everyone.”   
“Well, fair enough. I’ll find a guy and send him out there for you.”   
“Thanks again, Chief!”   
“Anything for the girl who’s fast becoming my top detective.”   
Nancy chuckled. “I’m nowhere near there yet, but I’m aiming for it.”   
“Good to hear. Well, I’ll talk to you later.”   
“Thanks again Chief. Bye!” She hung up the phone mere seconds before the others came out. Izzy and Emily took Rosemary and Flora to Lilac Inn while Nancy, Helen, and Ida went straightaway to Riverview Manor. The Archers pulled up the very next minute.   
“Oh, Madden’s not here?” said Nancy when she saw that Jenny’s younger brother was absent.   
Jenny nodded. “Dad thought it best that he not come, so he’s over at one of his friends’ houses, playing video games by now. Besides, Dad also figured that he wouldn’t be interested in any of the conversations the adults have.”   
Ida chuckled. “And I wouldn’t blame him, to be honest.” She hugged Jenny. “It’s so good to see you again!”   
Jenny returned the hug. “It’s so good to see you too!” She glanced around. “Where are Emily and Izzy?” Nancy, Helen, and Ida took turns telling her everything that had happened in the past few days, as Izzy and Emily pulled up. They hugged and said their hellos before setting out to find a good spot to set up their picnic. By then, the boys finally showed up. Don Cameron and Richie Farnham had brought four of their friends, John McBride, Phil Potter, Jeff Tucker, and Charles Daly. The girls ended up telling the whole story all over again as the boys were interested in hearing the details, Don and Richie in particular. When it came around to Nancy taking care of the owl, they gasped in awe and concern.   
“You really should have called animal rescue and waited for them to take care of it,” said Richie, his brow furrowed in concern, especially after seeing the bandages on Nancy’s arms.   
Nancy sighed. “I probably should have, but my first thought was getting it out of the house immediately. It didn’t want to be there anymore than we wanted it, and I was afraid it would have done something to Aunt Flora before we had a chance to get her out.”   
Don nodded. “That’s a good point.”   
Richie sighed. “And I bet you didn’t call them afterwards either.”   
Nancy smiled sheepishly. “No.”   
Richie rolled his eyes. “Typical.”   
“What? We were looking for how it got in there in the first place!”   
“Besides, it was late at night,” said Emily, “we were just concentrating on one thing at a time.”   
“And give Nancy a break,” retorted Helen. “We needed to take action, and she took it! It wasn’t like she touched a butterfly or something more delicate.”   
“I know, I know, but still, it was a wild animal and should have been properly taken care of!”   
Nancy raised her hands. “What’s done is done, no use arguing about it. We’ll just have to make absolutely sure to be more careful in the future.”   
“Unless you can solve this mystery before another wild animal is let loose in the house,” said Jenny. “Which I most certainly hope so.”   
“I totally agree,” said Don. “And consider us at your service Nancy, we’ll help however and wherever we can.”   
Nancy smiled, perhaps a little forcefully. Though she had decided to give Don a chance, she was sorely wishing Frank was here instead of him. “Thanks Don!”   
“Speak for yourself,” mumbled Richie.   
“I’m always willing to lend a helping hand to lovely ladies,” said Phil with a coy grin.   
“Well I’ll definitely help,” said John, “this whole mystery sounds rather intriguing.”   
“I agree,” said Jeff, “certainly more interesting than working part-time, that’s for sure.”   
“No argument there,” said Charles with a scoff. He and Jeff were working as stockers at the local grocery store. “Besides, we would get prettier co-workers.” Jeff hit him before the two burst out laughing.   
“You two are such idiots,” said Helen.   
Izzy shrugged. “Boys will be boys.”   
“As long as they’re cute, I can ignore the idiocy,” said Ida with a shake of her head.   
“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Richie.   
Don scoffed. “Technically they were roasting each other while giving you all compliments.”   
“Whatever,” said Helen with a wave of her hand.   
Nancy, though, was thoughtfully chewing her food while the others joked. She had to have been missing something, but what? What was she not seeing? If there was any time she really wanted to have her mother’s advice on anything, now was it. Maybe a call to the Hardys was in order as Fenton Hardy was the only other person she knew of, besides his sons of course, who would be as good and as seasoned as her mother was in looking for secret passages. But she wanted to have one more go at it before giving them a call. Besides, hopefully that meant the boys were finally finished with solving their second mystery, if they hadn’t solved it by now. It would be a week tomorrow since she last talked to them about it, since she last talked to them at all. They should have solved their second mystery by now for sure, but since they had yet called her to tell her the good news, or even sent her a simple text, she figured they hadn’t yet.   
“Nancy!” Nancy jumped and glanced around at the picnic party. Helen had her arms crossed. “You need to take this break, and your father recommended it, so take the break please!”   
Nancy sighed. “Alright, alright, it’s just that . . .”   
“It’s just that your brain can’t really take a break when there’s a problem to be solved,” Richie said knowingly.   
Nancy grinned sheepishly. “Yeah.”   
Don got up. “Come on, let’s take a little walk around the property, I would like to see more of it.” The others chimed in their agreements. The group quickly picked up the remnants of their picnic before setting out for their little hike. They set out in pairs, the twins went with Jeff and Charles, Jenny walked with Phil, Emily walked with Richie, Helen walked with John, and Nancy walked with Don.   
“Do I have a chance at all?” asked Don.   
Nancy glanced at him in surprise. “I’m sorry, say what?”   
“A chance at all, of going out with you.”   
“Well, maybe . . .” began Nancy.   
“But I’m getting this feeling that you’re really not that interested . . .”  
Nancy eyed him. “You’re just now noticing?”   
Don sighed as he ran his fingers through his dark locks. “I know, I know, you’ve been telling me over and over again that you’re just not interested in me, and I may be a fool, but I keep holding on to this hope that one day, you will like me back the way I like you.”   
Nancy pursed her lips, carefully choosing her words. “I admire your persistence and that strong hope, and I am grateful for your attention, and I am willing to go out with you . . .”   
“Really?” asked Don, eyes wide.   
Nancy held up her hand. “Let me finish . . .”   
Don seemed to deflate. “Oh, there’s a but.”   
Nancy sighed. “Yes, there’s a but, but I have this feeling that we’re not meant for each other. We can go out, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high, especially once you’ve come to the same realization I already have. Don, I really don’t want to lead you on. If we do go out, I want you to be open to the notion that we might not work out.”   
“Does that mean you’re open to the notion that we could?”   
“Even though I’m very sure we’re not going to work out? Yes Don, I’m open to it, I just find it very unlikely.”   
Don thought a moment before holding out his hand. “Alright, deal.”   
Nancy smiled and shook his hand. “Deal.”   
“And if we don’t, we’ll still be friends?”   
Nancy smiled. “Now that I can guarantee.”   
Don smiled. “Good, because you’re a swell girl, and interesting things happen around you.”   
“Is that the only reason why you want to hang out with me?”   
Don laughed. “What? No! I said you’re a swell girl! Interesting things just happen to happen to you!”   
Nancy laughed. “I was just teasing, and that didn’t quite come out right.”   
Don winced. “I know.” They walked a bit further in silence before Don let out a gasp. “Hey! Why don’t we head back to Twin Elms with you and help you look!”   
Nancy tilted her head, unsure. “Well, my Dad’s already taken a look . . . but I think a few extra eyes might be very helpful.”   
Don grinned. “Well considering we didn’t get to give you much help on your last case, I hope we can prove ourselves this round.”   
Nancy smirked. “We’ll see about that.”   
Don laughed. “We shall indeed.” The group finished their walk around Riverview Manor and all agreed that they should return back to Twin Elms quickly, with the boys along to help in the search for a secret passage. Jenny got permission from her parents to go along, they would pick her up in about an hour. Izzy and Emily went to go pick up Rosemary and Flora from Lilac Inn while the others went right away to Twin Elms.   
Helen went to the front door and unlocked it. “Ooh, I hope nothing happened,” she said worriedly.   
“Well if something did happen, at least Aunt Flora and Aunt Rosemary weren’t here to be hurt,” said Nancy reassuringly.   
Helen nodded and let out a soft sigh. “Yes, that is true.” Jenny patted her shoulder before she opened the door and the group filed in.   
“Well, so far so good,” said Ida as they glanced around the first floor.   
“Yes, but the ghost seems to be mainly working on the second floor,” said Nancy. “I should think that’s where the damage has taken place.”   
Helen gulped. “R-right, well, let’s go up and see.”   
“Rather odd for a ghost,” muttered Phil.   
“You’re telling me,” said Jenny as they walked up the stairs. “This guy isn’t doing a very good job at playing as one.”   
John scoffed. “Well obviously, how else would we have all figured out this wasn’t a real ghost? Makes you wonder why he’s even bothering pretending to be one when he’s practically let it be known that he literally isn’t.”   
Nancy furrowed her brow. “That is a very good question, John, one I hope we can answer real soon.”   
Helen paused at Flora’s door and let out a huff. “Well, let’s get this part over with first.” She slowly opened the door and everyone peered in. She let out a shriek. The room was in disarray!


	10. Messy Rooms

Nancy rushed to check the other rooms, and gasped upon seeing the room she shared with Helen. It too was in disarray! But the other rooms were untouched. Why? Was the ghost looking for some clue as to what made Nancy tick, or scare her off the case? She bit her lip. Maybe this so-called ghost wasn’t really pretending to be a ghost so much as just using whatever means necessary to scare everyone. She thought of the police officer Chief McGinnis had sent and went off in search of him.   
“Nancy, wait!” Nancy heard Don following her, but did nothing to stop him. She walked out the front door and paused to wait for him. “Where are you going?”   
“I called Chief McGinnis and asked him to post an officer on the grounds. I want to make sure he’s alright, and see if he saw anything.”   
“You didn’t tell the others?” he asked.   
She began walking off into the surrounding forest with a shake of her head. “No, they wanted me to take a break and not think about it at all, but I wanted to be cautious. Besides, if the officer didn’t see anything, then this dumb ghost has been getting in another way.” She bit her lip. “And maybe it is from Lilac Inn.”   
“Say what?”   
Nancy told him everything they had found out from the Caldwell letters, how there was a tunnel connecting both houses and the clues to finding the entrance was in the book of poems written by Jim Caldwell that was at Lilac Inn, but was stolen, most likely by the men behind all this.   
“Who do you think is behind all this?” asked Don as they walked around the yard, looking for the officer.   
Nancy pursed her lips. “I’m pretty sure Nathan Gomber has something to do with this. I don’t think he’d be the one actually trying to scare Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Flora out of the house, I think he’s hired someone to do all the dirty work.”   
“You already have a prime suspect?”   
Nancy nodded, letting out a huff. “That’s not the hard part in this mystery, the hard part is actually finding out how they’re doing everything and finding some hard evidence that can be used against them in court.” She glanced around nervously. Where was the officer? Had something happened to him? Was he only coming by every now and then to check up on the house and as such wouldn’t be there? Or was he just hiding really well? She really hoped it was the last option. Maybe, hopefully, he had seen something, or if anything, this was just proof that the so-called ghost was in fact using the tunnel from Lilac Inn. They had to take a look there next. But first things first . . . “Where is the officer?” Nancy asked as she paused to look around, worried.   
“He could be on the other side of the house,” said Don, trying to ease her worry.”   
“Walking at the same pace as we are?” Nancy asked. She gave a little shake of her head. “That might seem to be the logical solution, but, I don’t know, I have a bad feeling about this.”   
Don glanced around the yard, his eyes pausing at the thick forest that lay just around the perimeter of the property. “I am too, but I’m just thinking positive.”   
“I know, I thank you for it, but if we can’t find him, we’ll have to call Chief McGinnis and see if he’s heard anything from him.”   
“That won’t be necessary.” The couple yelped and spun around. Stepping out from behind a tree was a police officer. He had sandy blonde hair and striking hazel eyes. He tipped his hat. “Tom Patrick, at your service. Miss Drew, I presume?”   
Nancy nodded. “Nancy Drew, a pleasure to meet you Officer Patrick.” She presented Don. “And this is my friend, Don Cameron.”   
Don and Tom Patrick shook hands. “Nice to meet you,” said Don.   
“Likewise,” said Tom. He turned to Nancy. “Well, I would like to report that no one ventured near the house. And, if you don’t mind, I went poking around the property to see if I could find an opening somewhere.” He shook his head. “There was nothing.”   
Nancy smiled at him. “I appreciate that.” She paused and let out a breath. “Did you hear anything coming from the house?”   
Tom blinked as he slowly shook his head. “No, did the ghost do something?” Nancy told him about the two rooms in disarray. His eyes widened. “Did you make sure nothing was stolen?”   
“I can’t tell you that about Aunt Flora’s room, and I didn’t even check my own. I came out here to see if you had seen or heard anything.”   
Tom shook his head. “Well I certainly didn’t, but we’d better go take a closer look at those rooms.”   
Nancy nodded. “Right.” The three dashed back to the front of the house, right as Emily and Rosemary were helping Flora to the front door. Izzy was opening the door to let them in, but all four paused and blinked in surprise when Nancy and Don came around the corner with the officer.   
“Nancy! What’s wrong?” exclaimed Rosemary.   
Nancy let out a sigh and explained. “I called Chief McGinnis and asked for an officer to watch the house while we were gone. He didn’t see anyone in the property nor did he hear any noises from the house.”   
Flora let otua breath of relief. “Well, that’s good.”   
“But your room and the one I was sharing with Helen were vandalized,” said Nancy gently. “Don and I came out here to look for him and we’re going to look for clues.” She placed a gentle hand on Flora but glanced at Rosemary. “Will you come to see if nothing else has been stolen?”   
“Nothing else?” asked Tom. But the others seemed to ignore him.   
Flora took a deep breath. “Yes, I’ll come and look.”   
“But Flora, I can . . .” began Rosemary.   
Flora shook her head. “It’s fine Rosemary, I want to do this. It is my room after all, and I’m not about to let some bully scare me out of it.” Her tone said it was final, and the group walked into the house and up the stairs. Nancy let out a sigh of relief to find that nothing in either room had been touched, but, where had the others gone? Her heart beat wildly. Had someone found the secret tunnel?   
Don glanced around. “Uh, where did everyone go?”  
Tom glanced around. “How many were there?”   
“Eight others, sir,” said Don.   
Tom glanced between Don and Nancy. “Eight? How could eight people disappear?”   
“That’s what we want to know,” said Nancy.   
“Maybe they found the secret passage and went into it together!” exclaimed Emily, hopefully.   
Nancy thought more on it, it was possible, but shouldn’t they have sent a few people to look for the rest of them, to let them know they had found it? She knew Helen knew better than that. But then, where had they gone? “It’s possible,” said Nancy slowly, “but don’t get your hopes up too high.” Everyone jumped when it sounded like there was a stampede coming from the attic.   
“Nancy! Grandma! Oh, you called the police, wonderful!” came Helen’s voice from behind them. They all turned around, and the eight people came down the attic ladder. Helen gave her grandmother a quick hug. “We didn’t touch anything, promise.”   
“But what were you all doing in the attic?” asked Don. Nancy noticed Tom walked into Flora’s room and heard the click of a camera. He must have been taking photos so they could clean up and see if anything was missing.   
“We thought we heard a noise coming from up there,” said Phil, “so we all went to check it out.”   
“You all went?” Nancy asked incredulously. She glanced at Helen. “You didn’t think to leave a guard somewhere?”  
Helen winced. “I did, but only briefly . . . oh Nancy, I for sure thought we were going to catch him!” She glanced down and sighed. “But we obviously didn’t.” She grunted and stomped. “I just want this whole thing to be over with already! I want my grandma and my great-aunt to have their house back all to themselves!” She wrapped her arms around herself.   
Nancy sighed as she placed both of her hands on Helen’s shoulders. “I know, but this guy obviously knows the insides of this house better than both of them. And they took the only clue we had to find any of the secret entrances. It’s going to take us a little longer to find the secret passages, but we’ll find it, I promise.”   
Helen smiled slightly and sniffled. “I know you will.”   
Tom walked out of Flora’s room. “Well, if you want to take a look through everything and see if anything was stolen, please do.” He held up a plastic bag filled with a blouse, a book, and a figurine. “I’m going to take pictures of your room, Miss Drew, and then take all of this to the lab to look for fingerprints. Call the station once you’ve gotten a list, if there is one.”   
Flora smiled. “Thank you so very much, officer.”   
Tom tipped his hat. “Just doing my duty, ma’am.” He turned and went into Nancy’s and Helen’s room to take pictures.   
Rosemary glanced around at the friend group. “Could most of you go downstairs, or something? We don’t need everyone coming in to help.”   
Jenny snorted. “You have a point there, Mrs. Hayes.”   
Rosemary waved her hand. “Oh, all of you can call me Aunt Rosemary.”   
Flora smiled. “And you may call me Aunt Flora.”   
“Sweet!” said Phil.   
Don stepped forward. “Are you sure? A couple of us guys could help, ah, um, Aunt Flora get into the room.”   
Rosemary glanced at each of them. “Well, that, that might be nice . . .”   
“Oh Rosemary, let them help, you’ve been a doll taking care of me this whole time, you deserve a break,” said Flora. Nancy noted her voice was just as firm as before.   
Rosemary sighed. “Well alright, if you insist. But we really would only need two boys.”   
“And may I come in too, Grandma?” asked Emily.   
“Of course.” Flora glanced at Nancy and Helen. “And I think you two shold tend to your room.”   
Nancy smiled. “We will, once Officer Patrick has finished taking pictures.”   
Flora smiled and nodded. “Of course.” She turned to the others. “Well, let’s get this over with.” John and Richie stepped up to escort Flora into the room, followed by Rosemary and Emily. Ida and Izzy led the others down the stairs to wait while Don stayed behind to provide support to Nancy and Helen in their room.   
They stayed in the hall for a few minutes in silence, merely listening to the snaps of Tom’s camera phone and Flora’s low mumbling as they went through each piece. Finally, Tom emerged from the room.   
He tipped his hat. “Well, I think I’ve gotten everything I could. All that’s left is to see if any fingerprints were left behind. I’ll check up on you folks before I call it quits for the day. And I’ll have them call you here, Miss Drew, if they find anything on these articles.”   
Nancy smiled. “Thank you so much for everything, Officer Patrick.”   
“Not at all, just doing my duty. But I do find it odd that I didn’t hear a thing.”   
“So do I,” said Nancy, “it’s really odd. He must have taken his time to take everything out.”   
“He probably heard our plans for today and knew we’d be out for a while,” said Helen.   
“There is that, and took his time.” Nancy let out a huff. “He might have also seen you out in the yard, Officer Patrick.”   
Tom shrugged. “He might have, I did come in view of the windows a few times, but I wasn’t looking up at them all the time. He could have looked out then and saw me at one point and made sure he didn’t make noise so I wouldn’t investigate.” He let out a huff as he scratched his head. “What is so important about this place anyways? I’ve never heard of any buried treasure here or anything.”   
“No, but if my hunch is correct, the guy I think is behind all this is looking for a cheap sale so he can turn around and sell it to the highest bidder.”   
Tom stroked his chin. “Hmm, interesting, that sounds like a plausible explanation. Sure seems like he’s wasting a lot of time for it.”   
Nancy scoffed. “Right? But I think this is actually pretty recent, so it hasn’t been that much time.”  
“Oh, OK, well, still, seems like a waste of time. The owners of this house seem like stubborn, sweet ladies, he’d have a hard time of it. He should just quit it now.”   
“Ha!” said Helen. “He totally should. But he’d better return all of Aunt Flora’s jewelry first!”   
Tom glanced at her in shock. “He’s stolen jewelry?”   
“Chief McGinnis already has the list,” said Nancy. “He has a man checking in with the pawn shops, but nothing’s turned up yet.”   
Tom scratched his head. “Man, this guy is really crazy if you ask me.”   
“We don’t have to,” said Don with a scoff, “we can tell. He hasn’t exactly made it very hard not to notice.”   
Tom chuckled. “So I’ve noticed. Well, I’d better get these to our forensics lab, the faster we can build a case against this guy, the faster we can take him to court and prison once we’ve nabbed him.”   
Nancy nodded. “Sounds good.”   
Tom tipped his hat. “It was a pleasure to meet all of you. Good day.”   
“Good day,” said Nancy with a nod of her head.   
“Good day. And thank you!” said Helen with a wave as Tom walked down the stairs.   
“Bye!” said Don. The three then dashed into the room and Nancy and Helen went about cleaning up and making sure they still had everything.   
“Well,” said Nancy as she sat down on her bed, “so far everything’s here.”   
“Same with my things,” said Helen as she put the last piece of her clothing back in the closet.   
Don shrugged. “Then why go through all this trouble of messing up your room along with Aunt Flora’s?”   
Nancy puckered her lips. “He might be trying to send me a message.”   
“Well, if you and I are reading the same message, I don’t like it one bit,” said Helen as she sat down next to her. “This is becoming too dangerous.”   
“How so?” asked Don. “The most this guy’s done is mess up your room and let a wild animal into the house.”  
“Oh, but he has tried to topple a statue at the history museum on Nancy!” exclaimed Helen.   
“What?”   
Nancy nodded. “Yes, but that was just at the history museum.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “But Don’s right too, this has been the most damage the ghost has done within the house. Why is that?”   
“Well, you were thinking there were two people in on this,” said Helen.   
Nancy nodded. “I did, and it’s beginning to look more and more like that is the case.” She stood up and began to pace. “But then who is the accomplice? Why haven’t they tried to do anything drastic to scare off Aunt Flora and Aunt Rosemary? Nothing that’s been done has effectively scared them off.”   
“Plus, we still have to find that secret passage.”   
Nancy nodded. “That too.”   
“Do you need us guys to come over tomorrow to help?” asked Don.   
“I don’t know, but I will call if I need to.”   
Don nodded. “Fair enough.”   
“Helen, Nancy, Don!” called out Rosemary.   
“Coming!” answered Helen as the three left the room. Everyone shared notes, nothing was missing, and nothing had been found. But it was getting late, and Rosemary and Flora invited everyone to dinner. They had called Jenny’s parents and invited them as well. They arrived and everyone had a pretty good evening.   
When Nancy was trying to fall asleep that night, her mind wandered over the day’s events and the house. Why exactly did the ghost just make a mess? Just another supposed scare tactic that obviously wasn’t working? And where was that secret passage? Nancy let out a huff. Maybe it wasn’t that she needed a break from looking for it, more that she needed a break from looking for it on this side. There was another side and they had yet to check it out. Nancy turned over as she finally began to drift to sleep. It was high time they looked for secret passages at Lilac Inn.


	11. Searching Lilac Inn

When they woke up the next morning, the day seemed to dawn clear and joyful. Nancy rolled over and slowly peeled open her eyes. The sunlight was just peeking through her window and she could hear the faint chirping of birds. She stretched and got out of bed. The first thing was she checked her phone. She saw she had gotten a message from Frank. She opened it and read it to herself.   
“Sorry for not replying earlier, it’s been crazy. We have solved our mystery, but it was connected, in a way, to Dad’s case, and we’ve been having to give our testimony several times. Will text you once we’re finished to see if you have time to talk about it. Hope you’re on a mystery as well. Aunt Trudy, Joe, Mom, and Dad send their love. Talk to you soon. Frank.” She bit her lip. He didn’t send his love as well? Or was Helen right, that he did love her and he was too shy to say it, especially if he wasn’t sure she liked him back? She huffed. And she was only going out with Don just to hopefully prove to him that she wasn’t the one for him, that they were better off as friends. Just like she knew Frank was going out with Callie to keep Adam Mason off her back. Though, she had a feeling Callie did like him. How could she not? Frank was a swell guy.   
“Who texted you?” asked Helen. Nancy turned to look at her. She had her head propped up on her arm, but she was fighting to keep her eyelids open.   
Nancy sighed. “Frank sent me a text. They’ve solved their mystery, but they’re in court right now, so they still can’t talk. He said he’ll text me once it’s over so we can talk about it.”   
Hearing that, Helen sat straight up, her eyes wide open. “Really? Frank texted you?” She bounced off her bed and leaped onto Nancy’s “Let me see!” Before Nancy could reply, she had taken the phone out of her hands and was reading the text. “Oh, oh, he doesn’t send you his love . . .” began Helen slowly.   
“See? He could just think of me as his sister.”   
“But Joe sends it, so why not Frank?” asked Helen, a smirk growing. “He definitely likes you, and is too shy to admit it to you. Plus, Joe’s probably teasing him about it, the poor guy.”   
Nancy snatched back her phone. “Well, poor me right now. You’re teasing me!”   
“It’s only natural. Since you two won’t admit it to each other, Joe, Bess, and I have to do it for you.”   
Nancy scoffed. “Sure you do. And it’s not worth doing it during a mystery.”   
Helen let out a huff. “Alright, alright, fair enough. We are here to help Grandma and Aunt Flora. But we haven’t found anything yet!”   
“I know, I was thinking before I fell asleep last night that it’s high time we checked Lilac Inn for the secret tunnels.”   
“That’s if we can find them,” said Helen. “Aunt Gloria did quite a bit of work on it.”   
“Yes, but apparently the workers never found the secret tunnels, so maybe they aren’t in the areas that were worked on.” Nancy stood up. “We need to talk to Emily as soon as possible. Knowing which areas were renovated could help us narrow it down to where they could be.”   
“That’s a great idea!” exclaimed Helen as she bounded off the bed and began dressing. “That way, we’ve got it narrowed down so it will make our search a little easier.”   
Nancy smiled as she too dressed. “Exactly.” They quickly finished getting dressed and hurried downstairs. Rosemary, Flora and Emily were already up, cooking breakfast. A few minutes later, Ida and Izzy came downstairs. Ida was the only one still in her pajamas. She yawned as she sat down and rubbed her eyes.   
Rosemary chuckled. “Did we wake you from your beauty sleep?”   
“Nuh-uh,” said Ida, “I just couldn’t get to sleep.”   
“How come?” asked Helen.   
Ida shrugged. “I don’t know why, but I just kept thinking about the best places to hide a secret door.”   
Helen scoffed. “That’s supposed to be Nancy’s thing, and she went to sleep!” She let out a breath. “Man, I wish the Hardys would hurry it up and get their trial over with. Maybe they could help, even if they can’t be here.”   
Ida blinked. “Trial? What trial?”   
Emily gasped. “They texted you?”   
Helen grinned. “Yup!” She told them about the text.   
Ida seemed a little more awake when she finished. “Ooh, maybe we’ll get to hear their voices soon!”   
Nancy chuckled nervously. “We’ll see. But first things first.” She turned to Emily. “What parts of Lilac Inn were renovated?”   
Emily blinked. “Uh, mainly the first floor and a few rooms were split into two. Why?”   
“Because maybe we can narrow down where the secret passages are hidden based on what hasn’t been renovated. The workers didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, did they?”   
Emily gasped as her eyes widened. “Why, no, no they didn’t!” She grinned. “You’re onto something there!”   
Flora beamed. “You are a very observant young lady! I would have never thought of that!”   
Nancy smiled. “Thank you.” She glanced at each one. “And if we can figure out where the secret door is to the tunnel in Lilac Inn, we’ll be able to go through the tunnel and find out where they come out here.” She huffed. “Finally. That being said, I think there should be at least one person who stays here with Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Flora.” She glanced at the women. “Unless you want to come with us to Lilac Inn and visit it again.”   
Flora shook her head. “I want to stay here and rest a bit. Being around all those people was kind of making me anxious. That’s not good for my heart right now.”   
Nancy nodded. “I understand. So someone should stay here with you two.”   
Helen huffed. “Well, you and Emily definitely need to be going, so,” she glanced at Ida and Izzy, “guess it’s going to be one of us.”   
Ida slowly raised her hand. “I’ll stay, I want to sleep some more.”   
Helen chuckled. “Right, but you wouldn’t be able to help Grandma keep an eye on things.” She glanced at Rosemary. “I guess I’ll stay too.”   
Rosemary smiled and hugged her granddaughter. “Why thank you dear!”   
“Then consider me at your service,” Izzy told Nancy with a big grin.   
Nancy chuckled. “Good to have you on board. I think we should head out after breakfast.”   
Emily nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll call Jane real quick and let her know we’re coming.” She pulled out her phone and made the call while Helen helped Rosemary serve plates. She ended it a minute later, beaming. “Jane thinks you’re really smart!”   
Izzy scoffed. “You mean finding Josiah’s will wasn’t enough of a clue to that?” The others laughed.   
“Well, she just keeps on surprising us,” said Emily with a shrug. “She looks at things differently than we do.”   
Helen chuckled. “That is so true.”   
Nancy huffed. “I just hope the way I look at things will allow me to find those secret passages at Lilac Inn.”   
“Well, let’s get eating then,” said Izzy as she sat down. “And we can find out.”   
“Good idea,” said Nancy as she too sat down. They quickly ate breakfast and dashed up to their room to finish getting ready before heading out.   
“Oh, I really hope they’re easier to find at Lilac Inn!” said Emily.   
“I hope so too,” said Nancy. “Otherwise, we’re going to have to tear both houses apart!”   
“Oh I so hope not!” said Emily. “We’ll help all we can. Oh, if only that book of poems hadn’t been stolen!”   
“You know very well why too,” said Izzy, “those guys knew Nancy would figure it out lickity split and end their whole operation in no time.”   
Emily chuckled. “Yeah, that is true.” She paused for a moment. “But what I can’t understand is why? I mean, sure, your dad’s told us that Nathan Gomber’s insistent on getting it for his employers so they can turn the area into an apartment complex, but that just doesn’t make any sense! Twin Elms would work better as another bed and breakfast, like Lilac Inn, not an apartment complex!”   
Nancy nodded as she pulled into the Lilac Inn parking lot. “I agree. I wonder if Nathan Gomber has an ulterior motive for wanting Aunt Flora and Aunt Rosemary to sell to him. Maybe I can ask my dad when he gets back.”   
“Speaking of, do you know when he’ll be back?” asked Izzy.   
Nancy shrugged. “He didn't know himself. It was all going to depend on how things go.” She turned off the car. “OK, time to get to work.”   
“Let's do this,” said Izzy. The three got out of the car and entered Lilac Inn. They were met by the beaming face of Jane Willoughby. She was wearing a pale orange skirt with a floral blouse that accented her dark skin very well and had her dark brown curls pulled back with a matching clip. Then Richard Topham walked into the foyer from the dining room. He was fiddling with a piece of paper and didn’t see the girls. He paused at the hostess station and cast a sideways glance at Jane.   
“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay?”   
Jane placed a hand on his. “You’ve opened your home to me, Emily, and the Turners, a free meal is in store every once in a while, Richard.”   
He smiled and brought her hand to his lips. “A fair point, fair lady.”   
She giggled. “Richard, we have company.” He blinked and turned to the girls.   
He straightened up in surprise. “Izzy! Emily! Nancy! Why . . .” he paused as he looked around, “where’s Ida?”   
“Catching up on her beauty sleep,” said Izzy with a smirk.   
Richard chuckled. “Of course. But why are you three here?”   
“Nancy’s hoping to find the secret tunnels to Twin Elms from this side,” said Emily. “The Caldwell brothers built them when they built both houses and they were used as part of the Underground Railroad.”   
“Well, that’s great they were part of the Underground Railroad,” said Richard. He glanced at Nancy. “But you think the ghost is going to Twin Elms from here?”   
Nancy shrugged. “It’s the only other explanation. Unless there is another entrance from another place. Right now, this is the only other entrance that we know of. And we haven’t been able to find the secret passages at Twin Elms.”   
Richard glanced at the grandfather clock situated in the corner. “Well, I wish you the best of luck in your search, but I must head to work.” He pressed Jane’s hand to his lips again. “Until tonight.” Then he gave Izzy a hug. “And you take care of each other.” He kissed her forehead. “I miss you.”   
Izzy smiled. “Miss you too, Dad, and we’ll be careful.”   
“Good. Talk to you later!” With a wave, he was out the door.  
“Bye!” the girls chorused and waved.   
Nancy turned to Emily. “Alright, where should we start?”   
Emily turned to Jane. “Is it alright to check the sitting room?”   
Jane cursed her lips. “I think it would be best to save that for last. I know a couple of people are going in there for a bit after breakfast.” She glanced at the clock. “And that’s almost done.”   
“Well then, guess we’ll start in the attic and work our way done,” said Emily.   
Nancy turned to Jane. “May we look at the rooms?”   
Jane shrugged. “I don’t see why not, everyone’s up and about.”   
“Even Nathan Gomber?”   
Jane nodded. “Oh yes, he said he had a meeting in Chicago. He told me he wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning. He didn't want me to give the room to someone else.”   
Nancy blinked, her heart beating a little faster. “What did you say? Nathan Gomber went to Chicago?” Emily’s and Izzy’s mouths dropped and looked at each other in shock. So did Carson Drew!  
“Yes he did,” said Jane with a nod of her head. “At least, that’s what he told me. I don’t trust him.”   
“I don’t either,” said Nancy as she pulled out her phone.  
“Who are you texting?” asked Jane.   
“I’m texting my dad, he’s in Chicago for a meeting with the railroad company. Mr. Gomber’s already threatened him, I’m sure he’d be glad of the warning.” She glanced up at Jane. “When did he leave?”   
“Nathan left this morning.”   
Nancy let out a sigh. “OK, that’s good. My dad left yesterday morning, and he might not be back until later this week. He wasn’t sure how long the meeting would take.”   
“Well,” said Jane as she reached into a drawer in her desk, “I think you can look through his room if you want while he’s gone.” She pulled out a key and handed it to Nancy. “He’s in the second room.”   
Emily gasped. “Oh! That’s the part of the room that’s still similar to Grandma’s!”   
Nancy closed her fingers around the key. “So, it looks like we have another reason to check Mr. Gomber’s room. But, let’s head to the attic first.”   
“OK,” said Emily and Izzy. They waved to Jane before dashing up the stairs. They followed Emily to the attic.   
“So, real quick, Emily, which parts exactly were untouched by the renovations?” asked Nancy as she turned on her phone’s flashlight.   
“Well,” said Emily with a huff, “the master suite, my old room, the sitting room, the kitchen, and two of the other rooms, one of which Mr. Gomber just so happens to be staying in.” She waved her hand around the attic. “And of course, the attic.”   
Nancy tapped her chin with her phone. “OK, so we know there's got to be an opening in your grandma's room, the ghost has used that a lot. And it's possible there's one in the attic.” She thought for a moment, Emily and Izzy watching her pace for a bit. “I don't think there's one in the kitchen. Unless . . . is there a cellar?”   
Emily shook her head. “Not anymore, Mom had that ripped out for the back patio. But Twin Elms still has its cellar.”  
“And the guys who worked on the Inn didn't find anything down there?”   
“Nope,” said Emily, shaking her head again. “They just filled it up and placed the patio down.”   
Nancy huffed. “Alright, we’ve at least narrowed it down to half the house.” She glanced at the wall. “Now, I guess we look.” The girls went over every square inch of the attic, and slowly, sometimes going over the same part two or three times. They had no track of time until Kane came up, insisting that they take a break for lunch. The girls relented and joined Jane and the Turners in the kitchen for a quick bite. They chatted about the mystery and Nancy's hunch.   
“Well,” said Jane, “the people staying in those rooms are going to be out for a few hours. If you're going to look for hidden passages, now would be the time.”   
“Oh, speaking of, I need to clean the master suite,” said Mary Turner. “We're expecting a wealthy lady and her maid and she wants it sparkling clean. Well, the maid does, anyways, that's what she told us.”   
Edna Turner scoffed. “What do you want to bet the lady's an old dear and it's the maid who's high-strung?”  
“Well based on how that maid sounded when she talked to me, I wouldn't be surprised,” said Mary before taking another bite of food.   
“May I clean it?” asked Emily softly.  
Jane blinked. “Emily, are you sure?”   
“Yes, please, it . . . it might be the last time I can see it as my mom's room.”   
Jane pulled her close. “Of course you can. But if you can't handle it anymore, you come let us know, alright? We’ll finish it up.” A tear fell down Emily's cheek as she nodded and returned the hug.   
Emily turned to Nancy and Izzy. “Would it be fine if I do this instead of looking for hidden doors?”   
Nancy smiled. “It’s perfectly alright. Do you want us to go in there with you first, or save that for later?”   
“If you could come in with me, that would be great.”   
Nancy nodded. “Then we’ll start with the master suite, move on to your old room, then the other room, and finally Nathan Gomber’s room, since he’s not going to be back until tomorrow morning.”   
Emily smiled. “Thanks.” As soon as they finished eating, Mary and Edna got Emily some cleaning supplies. The girls proceeded to head into the master suite. They stood in the doorway for a few minutes, letting Emily just soak it in, before setting about their tasks. Nancy and Izzy went through the room carefully while Emily cleaned. Satisfied that there was nothing to find and that Emily would be alright by herself, the two went on to the next room. After another thorough search, Nancy and Izzy went to the next room. Nancy couldn’t wait to get this one done so they could move on to Nathan Gomber’s room. Even if they didn’t find the secret door in that room, she hoped to find out more about Nathan Gomber and what he was really after. Finally, it was time to search Nathan Gomber’s room.   
Izzy wrinkled her nose with disgust when they entered. “Ugh, the man’s a total slob,” she said as she lifted a dirty sock off the bed. She let it fall right back where she had found it before turning to searching the room.   
“Which is funny,” quipped Nancy as she knocked on a wall, “because he’s pretty good at making himself look clean.”   
Izzy scoffed. “You’re joking, right? Even Jane doesn’t trust him.”   
Nancy chuckled. “OK, maybe not that clean, but you get my drift.”   
“I guess,” mumbled Izzy. The two jumped when a phone ringtone went off, playing a rock song rather loudly. Izzy pulled out her phone and grinned sheepishly at Nancy. “Sorry.” She glanced at the phone and blinked. “It’s Ida.” Nancy walked slowly towards her while she answered the phone. “Hey Ida, what’s up? Wait what? What happened?” Nancy gasped. The ghost had struck again. So that meant Nathan Gomber wasn’t the ghost for sure. But who was his accomplice? Izzy’s eyes widened. “You’re taking Aunt Flora to the hospital?” Nancy was out of the room like a shot and dashed to the master suite. Emily met her halfway with a pale face and wide eyes.   
“Oh Nancy! Grandma, the ghost . . . the ghost attacked Grandma!”


	12. A Sighting

Izzy came out the next moment. “Nancy, we need to get to the hospital!”   
Emily covered her face with her hands. “Oh please God, not Grandma too!”   
Nancy placed a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, the doctors will do all they can to save her. Let’s just get going.” Emily removed her hands from her tear-stained face and nodded. “Izzy, did you make sure the room was locked?”   
Izzy nodded. “I did.”   
“Let’s go.” The three dashed down the stairs.   
“My goodness, are you alright?” asked Jane when she saw them. “Emily!”   
“Oh no Jane, this isn’t for Mom, it’s for Grandma,” said Emily as more tears streamed down her face.   
Jane’s eyes widened and gasped. “Oh no!”   
Izzy stepped forward. “They think she’s going to be alright, but we do need to get Emily to the hospital right away.”   
“Then go. I’ll get Mary to finish the master suite. Go take care of your grandma, Emily.”   
“Th-thank you,” said Emily, giving her a quick hug. The three waved goodbye before racing out to Nancy’s car and practically diving in. Nancy pulled out of the driveway and took off, heading towards the hospital.   
“Did they say anything else besides that the ghost attacked Aunt Flora and they were taking her to the hospital?” asked Nancy.   
“H-Helen just said to get there as quickly as possible,” said Emily with a sniffle.   
Izzy nodded. “Ida said the same thing.”   
“Well that’s what we’re doing,” said Nancy as she turned at an intersection.   
“Oh please be alright,’ whispered Emily. Izzy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Emily grabbed her hand and squeezed it. The rest of the way silent, each praying that Flora would be alright. Helen and Ida met them at the entrance of the hospital.   
“What exactly happened?” asked Nancy as they led them through the corridors.   
Helen was pale. “Aunt, Aunt Flora wanted to go up to her room for a little nap. Grandma was going to go with her, but Aunt Flora said she wanted to try it by herself. She said she would call for us if she needed help. There was a little twinkle in her eye that suggested she had something up her sleeve and didn’t want anyone else to know about, so Grandma let her. We stayed with Grandma in the sitting room. We wanted to see if we could find a secret passage while you were looking at Lilac Inn.” Here Helen paused and let out a shaky breath.   
Ida took up the narrative. “The next thing we heard was a cry from Aunt Flora. She had called out, ‘Jed? Rosemary, he’s wearing Jed’s clothes!’ Then we heard her scream and fall down the stairs. Aunt Rosemary went to take care of Aunt Flora while Helen and I dashed up the stairs, but we couldn’t see anyone. That, and Aunt Rosemary was calling for us to help her get Aunt Flora to the hospital.” Emily let out a soft cry.   
Helen paused, turned, and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Emily, I think she’s going to be alright.”   
“You think, you don’t know for sure,” said Emily as she continued to cry.   
“But I do,” said a voice. They turned. Rosemary was coming out of a room. She motioned to them. “She’s going to be just fine. The doctor wants her to stay here for a few days.” Emily rushed past her into the room. The others followed, and saw that Emily was hugging Flora while she laid in bed.   
“Oh darling, don’t cry, I’m alright. I told you I’m a little tougher than that.”  
Emily sniffled. “I, I know, but, but I was cleaning the master suite and when Emily called, I,I . . . I just assumed the worst!”   
“Oh sweetheart,” said Flora softly as she pressed Emily’s face to her shoulder. “Everything’s going to be alright now. That ghost can’t harm me here.”   
Izzy huffed. “Hate to say this, but, I wouldn’t put it past him to try.”   
Flora scoffed. “I’d like to see him try.”   
Emily sat up. “Well I for one would like to make sure he doesn’t.”   
“I second that,” said Rosemary. “I already have permission from the doctor that you and I may stay here tonight, Emily.”  
“I second it too,” said Nancy. She glanced at Rosemary. “But what will this mean for the house if the both of you are here?”   
“It’s just for tonight,” said Rosemary, “we’ll be back in the morning.”  
“In other words, that means the four of us will be with the ghost tonight,” said Helen. She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh fun.”   
Nancy held up a finger. “You know, I could ask Chief Collig if he could have someone watching the house tonight. That way we’ll have back-up.”  
“And hopefully that will scare him away from doing anything horrible,” said Helen.   
“Yeah, hopefully,” said Ida. “With what happened today, I don’t know.”   
“Speaking of what happened,” said Nancy, turning to Flora, “what did happen? Helen and Ida were telling us you were going up the stairs.”   
Flora nodded. “I was.” She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath before reopening them. “I was looking down for the most part, taking my time getting up the stairs. I heard a footstep and looked up. There was a man there, dressed . . . dressed up as Jed.” The girls gasped in horror as FLora fought back tears.   
“Why that scum!” blurted Rosemary.   
Flora smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. “But I knew he couldn’t possibly be the ghost of Jed, those clothes were too loose on him. Plus he had this horrid, long, stringy hair that went past his shoulders. Jed hated having his hair any longer than his shoulders. Anyways, it startled me, to say the least. But then my fear turned to rage. He was trying to use my husband to force my hand, and I was having none of that.” She nodded at Ida, Helen, and Rosemary. “That’s when I yelled at him. I turned to call for you, and the next thing I knew, I had been pushed and I was falling down the stairs.”   
“Was anything broken?” asked Nancy.   
Flora and Rosemary shook their heads. “Thankfully, no,” said Rosemary. “Mainly bruises and a sprained ankle.”   
“Oh thank God,” said Emily with a sigh of relief.  
“Yes, thank God indeed,” said Rosemary. She glanced between Nancy, Izzy, and Emily. “Now, what I want to know, did you manage to find anything?”   
They shook their heads. “No, not yet,” said Nancy. “Unfortunately, this interrupted our search.”   
“Though I was kind of glad for it,” said Izzy, wrinkling up her nose. “We were in Nathan Gomber’s room, and boy is he messy.”   
Nancy snorted. “I think that’s the least of our worries. I wanted to find out if there were any clues as to the real reason why Nathan Gomber wanted Twin Elms. Maybe I can go back after dinner.”   
“Why?” asked Helen. “Wouldn’t he be back by then?”   
Nancy shook her head. “Jane told us he had gone to Chicago this morning and wouldn’t return until tomorrow morning. He didn’t want Jane to give away his room.” She began to pace. “Which can only mean that the secret door to the hidden passage has got to be in there. We just have to find it.”   
“And the ghost interrupted that by sending me to the hospital,” said Flora. “I’m sorry about that. You were probably really close!”   
“It’s alright, it actually gave us a clue.” The others blinked.   
“What do you mean by that?” asked Rosemary.   
“Correction, a couple of clues. First of all, this does mean for absolutely sure that Gomber has an accomplice. Willie Wharton, perhaps? I don’t know, but he has an accomplice and has been hanging out in the tunnel between the two houses, unless they found another exit. Secondly, apparently he can hear us better than we can hear him, or he’s just really quiet, and most likely has been listening in on a lot of our plans. He might have pushed Aunt Flora down the stairs to make sure we didn’t find the secret door in Nathan Gomber’s room. Why else would he have done something he’s never really done before?”   
“But, how does that exactly help us?” asked Rosemary.   
“It means we’re on the right track,” explained Nancy, “and we’ve managed to scare the ghost. I’m sorry it meant you got hurt, Aunt Flora.”   
Flora waved her hand. “If I’m blessed enough to get away with a few bruises and a sprained ankle, I think you’re doing good.”   
“Do you want to try going through Nathan Gomber’s room again tonight?” asked Izzy.   
Nancy thought a moment before slowly shaking her head. “No, let’s not. The ghost seems to be acting as some sort of guard to the secret tunnel. He might try to do something else if we try it again so soon. Besides, if we let him think he’s scared us, it might give us the chance to take him off guard. There’s no way he can be at Lilac Inn and at Twin Elms at the same time. We’re just going to have to figure out when he’s at Twin Elms and when he’s at Lilac Inn, or even in between them.”   
Ida huffed. “This is turning out to be such hard work.”   
“And you’ve barely lifted a finger all day.”   
Ida gasped and turned to her twin. “I did too! I helped get Aunt Flora here! And I called you.”   
“Yeah, uh-huh,” said Izzy with a cheeky smirk.   
“Alright, we are going to have to come up with a plan. This guy’s obviously upping the stakes. He’s realizing that stealing and moving things around to scare us isn’t working, so now he’s going to get physical. But when he sees that isn’t going to work, well, I don’t know what he’ll do. And I hope to have him behind bars before we find out.”   
“Ditto that,” said Helen.   
“But how are we going to plan this?” asked Izzy. “Especially since we might not get another chance of Gobmer being out of town.”   
“Hmm, we might have to pull a bluff in order for us to get back into his room,” said Nancy as she drummed her fingers on her chin. She turned to Rosemary. “Would it be alright if you called Gomber and pretended that you would sell the house to him? And try to stall long enough for us to get into his room and have a good look around.”   
“Well, I guess we could,” said Rosemary.   
“It doesn’t have to be tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I would like to wait until my dad gets back from Chicago before we go any further. He’s supposed to be looking some more into Gomber’s and Wharton’s business while there. Speaking of,” she pulled out her phone and checked it. She saw that she had missed a call from Helen and had gotten a few texts from Bess and George, but nothing from her father. She knew he had made it quite clear on previous business trips that he would only message her once he was finished with his meetings. But something about it this time made her uneasy. Maybe it was because Nathan Gomber had threatened him before?  
“Nancy?” said Helen.   
She looked up at everyone. “Um, yeah, he hasn’t replied to my text. He usually doesn’t when he’s on business trips. Says it allows him to focus on the task at hand.” She smiled. “Must either be doing really well, or they’ve hit a snag. We won’t know until he’s on his way back. He texts us then to let us know he’s on his way.”   
“Oh, OK,” said Rosemary, “but you seemed kind of worried.”   
Nancy shrugged. “Oh, it might have to do with the fact that Gomber threatened my dad before we came over to your house.”   
Rosemary gasped. “How horrid! No wonder why you’re worried!”   
Nancy waved her hand. “It’s probably just my nerves on edge after everything that’s happened. I don’t even know how Gomber would know my dad’s even in Chicago. He doesn’t make that kind of information known. When he’s away, he’s away, that’s it, no location given, for this very situation, so they can’t find him.”   
“I think you may be right. Well, I think we’ve done all that we can do. Will you take me home so I can pick up a few things for Flora? I’ll take my car back.”   
Nancy smiled. “Of course! I do want to get back to see if the ghost has done any more damage.”   
Rosemary nodded. “That too.” They said their goodbyes to Flora and Emily before walking out the door. The ride back home in both vehicles was quiet, but Nancy wished it wasn’t. She thought her imagination was running away with itself and becoming more and more worried that Gomber could in fact have done something to her father. He would have at least sent a quick reply, right? He hadn't done so before, but then again, he hadn't been threatened before either. At least, not that Nancy knew. Maybe he had and didn't want to worry her. Besides, like he had told Gomber, he wasn't hired to make the sale, only just in case the sisters needed to take Gomber to court. That should have been a loud enough of a message to Gomber that they didn't want to sell. But then another question arose, why did Gomber want Twin Elms so badly? Saying it was for his employers was only OK for a cover-story, especially if the company he worked for turned out to be fake.   
When they got back to Twin Elms, they helped Rosemary gather a few things and do a quick search of the house before she left. Nothing else had been disturbed, the clothes the ghost had word were thrown back into the trunk in the attic. Nancy eyed it suspiciously. Was there an opening in the attic for sure? But how come they couldn’t find it? Nancy pursed her lips. She figured the Caldwell brothers hid it rather well, but not that well. How did these guys figure out where and how to find them? Did they find it in the book of poems? Did they find it by accident? Is the secret door in Nathan Gomber’s room really the easiest one to find? Nancy gritted her teeth. There were still a lot of questions to be answered, and she felt like she had only begun to get anywhere.   
After Rosemary left, the girls made dinner and ate in silence. It wasn’t until they were cleaning up afterwards that Nancy spoke.   
“I want to check out the attic again.”   
Helen and the twins glanced at her. “Why?” asked Helen.   
“I do think there’s a secret opening up there.” She turned to face them after closing the dishwasher. “And I think the ghost went up there after pushing Aunt Flora down the stairs. Why else were the clothes left there?”   
“You have a point,” said Helen, “but I do think we should lock up before we head up.”   
“And could you call in someone to watch the house?” asked Ida.   
“Oh, right,” said Nancy as she quickly pulled out her phone. While Helen and the twins made sure the house was locked, Nancy told McGinnis the situation.   
“That’s horrible!” he exclaimed. “I’ll see if I can send a man over there for the night. Please be really careful, Nancy. It sounds like these guys are starting to get desperate.”   
“It seems like it,” said Nancy. “And thanks Chief.”   
“No problem, I want to see these crooks behind bars as much as you do. You know what? Should I just send a guy over and have him take a look around the house?”   
“Could you do that tomorrow? I would rather have Mrs. Turnbull present.”   
“Understandable. Alright, a guard for tonight and forensics tomorrow. I might come by myself, we’ll see.”  
“Thanks Chief! Good night!”   
“Good night, Nancy.” After she hung up, the girls turned off all the lights on the first floor, double checked the locks, and went up to the attic. They searched until nine, still finding nothing.   
“There has got to be an opening here somewhere,” mumbled Nancy.   
“The Caldwells sure hid these secret passages really well,” said Izzy. “They wanted to make sure no one besides themselves could find them.”   
“Just that now someone has and is using them for all the wrong reasons,” said Ida. “I bet the Caldwells are rolling in their graves. I almost wish they would come to haunt us just to get rid of this guy. They’d be far more trustworthy, that’s for sure.”   
Helen scoffed. “No kidding.”   
Izzy glanced at her phone. “Well, I don’t know if there’s anything more we can do tonight, besides spread our fingerprints around even more.”   
Nancy chuckled. “You have a point there. I think we have done all that we can tonight. We’d better get to bed.”  
“Good, I’m exhausted,” said Ida.   
“You’ve been sleeping most of the day,” said Helen with a scoff.   
“But it’s been nonstop since I got up,” said Ida.   
Helen sighed. “Yeah, that part is pretty exhausting.”   
“Well then, let’s head to bed,” said Nancy, heading towards the attic stairs.   
“Thank you,” said Ida as they followed her down. A few minutes later, all four were sound asleep.   
They got up early the next morning, feeling quite refreshed. Nancy wanted to find out if the guard saw anything and quickly changed to go out to see him. The others were equally as curious and changed to go with her. They had just gotten to the stairwell when the doorbell rang.   
“Oh, he must have come to us!” said Ida as they dashed the rest of the way to the door.   
Nancy opened the door, and gasped. Nathan Gomber was standing there.


	13. Another Threat

Nancy’s eyes widened, as did Gomber’s. They both narrowed their eyes.   
“Miss Drew,” he said icily.   
“Mr. Gomber,” she said equally as icily. “May I ask as to why you are here?”   
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” returned Gomber.   
“I asked first,” said Nancy. She crossed her arms. “You can answer first.”   
He shot her a cruel grin. “I came here to see if Mrs. Turnbull and Mrs. Hayes have considered my offer and are willing to sell.”   
“Funny thing, that,” said Nancy. “Neither one are here, so they can't talk to you.”   
“What? Where could they have gone? What have you done to them?”   
“Maybe you should talk to your partner about that. Ask him why he pushed Mrs. Hayes down the stairs and got her sent to the hospital.”   
Gomber’s eyes widened for a brief second before he growled. “Are you accusing me of trying to scare those two into selling to me?”   
“You tell me,” was Nancy's reply. “Are you?”   
“Your father sent you here to try and find something against me, huh? He’s going to regret that.” Gomber put a finger in her face. “And you’d better listen to me, if you don’t quit your little investigation, you and your father are going to regret it. You understand?”  
Nancy’s eyes flashed. “I heard your threat, Mr. Gomber, now it’s my turn. My father and I won’t stand by while you hustle these two dear women into selling their house to you dirt cheap. I don’t know the real reason why you want this house, but I will find out, and I will make sure you stay away from these women.” She let out a soft growl. “Do I make myself clear?”   
“Perfectly,” growled Gomber. “But you better ask yourself if it’s going to be worth it. I will get this house!”   
“And I will see that you make it to jail,” countered Nancy. Gomber let out a growl before turning and walking briskly away. Nancy didn’t take her eyes off of him until he had left the road.   
“Who was that?” asked Helen as Nancy closed the door.   
“It was Nathan Gomber,” replied Nancy between clenched teeth. “He told me I’d regret helping your grandmother and Aunt Flora!”   
Helen’s eyes widened. “What?”   
Nancy pulled out her phone. “And I’d better warn Dad. I’m going to call Hannah too and let her know.”   
Helen nodded. “Good idea. I’ll let Grandma know that Gomber was here.” She pulled out her own phone and dialed her grandmother’s number.  
Nancy quickly typed out her text and sent it. She dialed her home phone. As she hoped, Hannah picked up. “Drew residence.”   
“Hey Hannah, it’s Nancy.”   
“Nancy, darling! How’s everything been at Twin Elms?” Nancy brought her up to date, ending with the just recently show off with Gomber. “Oh Nancy! That man sounds horrible! I think you should come home until your father gets back.”   
“Oh, but Hannah, I couldn’t! They need me still! Besides, I couldn’t leave Helen, Ida, and Izzy in the house by themselves. Plus, I think I’m getting very close to finding something. I can just feel it!”   
“Oh, I do think you should come home,” said Hannah. She let out a sigh. “But, maybe it would be better if you stayed there. I do expect you to come home when your father gets back.”   
“Oh don’t worry, I will,” said Nancy cheerily. “He came to Twin Elms to bid me goodbye, the least I can do is be home when he comes home. Unless he decides to come to Twin Elms on his way home.”   
Hannah chuckled. “He’s more likely to do that and pick you up while he’s at it.” She paused. “You haven’t heard from him yet, have you?”   
Nancy shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I have sent him a couple of texts to warn him about Natah Gomber, but he hasn’t replied. I guess this meeting is taking longer than he thought. There must have been a few setbacks.” She bit her lip. “Or he found out something about Nathan Gomber and is looking more into it. I certainly hope so.”   
“That is a possibility. He told me he wasn’t going to be gone for long, but now that you mention it, he did mention wanting to look more into Nathan Gomber. So he might be doing that.” Hannah chuckled nervously. “And here I was starting to get worried! THanks for mentioning that, Nancy, I can rest a little easier.”   
Nancy’s mouth began to frown a little. “You seriously thought he wasn’t going to be gone for more than a day?”   
“You would think I would have thought of that since I did pack four days worth of clothes for him.” Hannah sighed. “And it’s going to be a big mess when he gets back.”   
Nancy chuckled. “Oh well, that’s what you get for worrying unnecessarily. He’ll send us both texts when he’s on his way back.”   
“Yes, yes, I know. Well, I’d better go. Your dog needs to go outside.”  
Nancy laughed. “Oh alright. Go take care of Togo. And give him my love!”   
“Hey, how about you tell him yourself? Give me a second.” Nancy waited until she could barely hear Hannah’s voice. “Togo, it’s Nancy. Say hi!”   
Nancy chuckled when she heard Togo barking. “Hi Togo!! I hope you’ve been acting like a good boy for Hannah!” There was a bit of barking. Togo realized he could hear his mistress’s voice and was looking for her. “Alright Togo, I need to go. Be good for Hannah!”   
“Well, I really need to let him out now,” said Hannah. “So, talk to you later!”   
“Thanks Hannah! Love you! Bye!”   
Hannah kissed into the phone. “Love you too! Bye!”   
Nancy hung up her cell and turned to Helen. She had just hung up as well. She let out a breath. “She’s glad you didn’t let him in, but she’s worried about what this could mean for you and your father for helping us.”  
Nancy placed a reassuring hand on her friend’s shoulder. “It didn’t stop from me helping Emily, it’s not going to stop us now. Gomber’s got to slip up soon. We just have to keep at it.” She huffed. “Though, now we can’t take a look into his room again, unless he leaves for another trip, or something.” She paused and blinked. “Unless, unless the ghost only pushed Aunt Flora to get us to stop looking!”   
Helen gasped. “You really think so?”   
“It’s a possibility.” She lowered her voice. “Which could very well mean it really is easier for him to hear us than for us to hear him.”   
Helen’s eyes widened. “Do you think that he was there when you three were at Lilac Inn, then came here and pushed her down the stairs to get you away from finding the secret door at Lilac Inn?”   
Nancy pursed her lips. “Now that you’ve said it out loud, it does sound ridiculous, but from what we’ve had to deal with, I wouldn’t put it past them to do something so low and rotten to keep us from finding out their scheme.”   
Helen shook her head. “It doesn’t sound ridiculous at all, it sounds like it’s just up their alley.” Her eyes flashed. “Just another reason for us to take them down.”   
Nancy nodded. “And we will.” She huffed before lowering her voice yet again. “We just can’t get back into Lilac Inn just yet, or Gomber’s really going to try something desperate to get us off this case.” She glanced around the house. “There’s got to be another way to do this.” She glanced at Helen. “And I think we’d better talk more in the car. Where are Ida and Izzy?”   
Helen pointed towards the kitchen. “They were getting some breakfast together. It should be done by now.”   
Nancy nodded. “Good, we’ll eat and talk at the same time.” The two walked to the kitchen and told the twins of their plan. The four quickly served their plates and headed out to Nancy’s car.   
“It’s about time we did this,” quipped Izzy before taking a bite.   
“The past few days have been rather trying,” said Ida. “Besides, better late than never.”   
“So, now what?” asked Izzy.   
“Well, we have got to figure out how they’re getting in and out of the house,” said Nancy. “Well, more like where they’re getting in and out, but we have got to find that secret passage.”   
“The last places to look are that guy Gomber’s room at Lilac Inn and the sitting room over there.” Ida glanced at Helen and Izzy. “Which we couldn’t do because of the accident.”   
Helen nodded. “Nancy’s wondering if the ghost caused the accident to keep you from finding it.”   
Ida glanced at Nancy. “Then we were pretty close. Guess that means it was in Gomber’s room.”   
Nancy nodded and sighed. “And now we can’t go back. He probably won’t let us in.”   
Ida rubbed her shin. “Then maybe we need a distraction.” She grinned at the others, especially her twin. “I think it’s time for a few of our contraptions.”   
Ida grinned back. “Right, the ghost can hear us, but he can’t see us, unless he comes out into the open.”   
Nancy tapped her finger on her chin. “What are you two thinking?”   
Izzy leaned forward. “Well, I was thinking that we get something set up in Aunt Flora’s room to catch the ghost. Then we put in a call to Gomber’s room and tell him something’s gone wrong at the house. Pretending to be the ghost, of course.”   
Nancy winced. “Well, I mean that’s a great idea, but what if Gomber knows the voice doesn’t belong to the ghost?”   
Izzy sat back. “Yeah, that’s a problem.”   
“Ooh!” said Ida. “Maybe we can have one of the guys try to impersonate the ghost!”   
Helen nodded slowly. “That could work.”   
“But we still would need to get the ghost to talk so we can hear him,” said Nancy. “That way we can imitate it better.”   
Izzy waved her dismissively. “Oh, that won’t be a problem. He’ll be shouting ‘Let me out of this thing!’ so much, it will be hard not to hear.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be so much fun!”   
“Um, one question,” said Helen.   
“Yeah?”   
“Are you sure your trap is even going to work?”   
Izzy shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it will, but there is that off chance it won’t. Maybe we should have a back-up, just in case.”   
Nancy nodded. “Good idea, and maybe a back-up to that back-up.”   
Ida let out a breath. “Ooh, we’re really going to have to look through our stash to make sure we even have everything.”   
Izzy winced. “Yeah, that could take us all day if we left right now. Maybe even two days.”  
“Hmm,” said Nancy, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. “Then I think you had better get going now so you can get back faster and we can end this once and for all.”   
“We should,” said Izzy, “but I really hate leaving you two alone with the ghost.”   
“We really don't have much of a choice,” said Nancy with a shake of her head. “I’d rather we get this going immediately before they try something else, something even worse than pushing Aunt Flora down stairs.”   
Helen bobbed her head. “I do agree with that.”   
“Are you sure?”   
“Positive,” chorused Nancy and Helen.   
Izzy huffed. “Alright. We’ll change and get out of here.” She held up the plate. “Unless you want us to help with the dishes.”   
Helen shook her head. “You took care of cooking breakfast, it’s only right that we clean up.”   
“Nice try though,” said Nancy with a knowing smirk.   
Izzy grinned. “Thanks, I’ll try harder next time.” Her smile turned into a frown. “But I still really don’t like the idea of you two being in the house with the ghost.”   
Nancy sighed. “Would it make you feel better if we went somewhere else? Say, back to the Historical Museum?”   
Helen blinked as she glanced at her friend. “Why should we go back there?”   
Nancy shrugged. “Just to get out of the house for a little while. Heck, maybe we can even see if they have a copy of Jim’s poems.”  
Helen shook her head. “No, they wouldn’t. There are only two books in existence, one at each house.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, we didn’t even check the book of poems here!”   
Nancy snapped her fingers. “You’re right! I had completely forgotten all about it! We should take it with us, maybe the Historical Museum can lock it up so the ghost can’t get to that either.”   
“Good idea,” said Helen. “And we can look through the poems on the way over.”   
“Right,” said Nancy. “And we can check in on Aunt Flora on our way back.”   
“Well, looks like we’ve got our day all set up,” said Izzy. “Good luck you two.”  
“Good luck yourselves,” said Nancy with a smile before getting out of the car. The four traipsed back into the kitchen before the twins took off to get changed while Helen and Nancy took care of cleaning the kitchen. Once Ida and Izzy had changed, they left the house. Nancy and Helen got changed and left not long after them. Helen had grabbed the book of poems off the shelf where her grandmother kept it and read it on their way to the Historical Museum.   
She let out a huff as she closed the book. Nancy was pulling into the driveway of the museum. “I think Jim’s poems are harder to figure out than Josiah’s,” she mumbled.   
Nancy scoffed. “That’s because he wanted his inheritors to find his will. Jim didn’t want anyone else to find those tunnels.”   
“True that.” She handed the book to Nancy as she turned off the engine. “Maybe you should take a crack at it.”   
Nancy took the book and leafed through it. “Mmm, you do realize that the hints to the secret passages might not even be in this book of poems?”   
Helen sighed. “Yeah, I know. But it’s worth a try.”   
Nancy nodded. “Yeah, I know. But this try doesn’t seem to be working out.” She paused as she read another poem. “That, or I’m just not seeing the hints.”   
Helen unbuckled her seat. “Well, we could stay here a little while before you ask Mrs. Ladd to pick it up for safekeeping.”   
Nancy nodded. “I think that’s the best thing to do right now.” The two got out of the car and walked into the museum, giving Mrs. Ladd a quick hello before wandering into the sitting room. The two sat on the sofa and went over the poems several times, but nothing was sticking out.   
Helen let out a breath as Nancy closed the book and stood up. “Just our luck, the book of poems we need was at Lilac Inn, and they’ve got it!”   
Nancy shrugged. “Well, guess we’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way.”   
“That hasn’t been very fruitful,” quipped Helen.   
“I know, but right now, I’m pretty sure the easiest way into the tunnels is in Nathan Gomber’s room at Lilac Inn.”   
“Well, guess we’ll have to hurry it up with that distraction. I don’t know what they’ll resort to if Grandma and Aunt Flora keep telling them no.”   
Nancy nodded solemnly. “I agree.” They reached the front desk and the girls asked Mrs. Ladd to lock up the book for safekeeping. The woman was more than willing to help and did as they asked.   
The two walked back out to the car. Nancy glanced at her phone for the time and noticed several missed calls. “Why,Hannah’s been trying to call me! I’d better call her back real quick.” Nancy dialed the number and put the phone to her ear.   
Hannah picked up. “Oh Nancy! I’m so glad you called!”   
“Hannah! What’s wrong? Is Togo sick or something?”   
“Oh no, this isn’t about Togo, it’s about your father!!”   
Nancy’s eyes widened. “Hannah, what do you mean?”  
“Oh Nancy, his clients for the railroad just called. He was supposed to have come in and called them with some information. But he hasn’t come back at all!”


	14. A Call for Sanity's Sake

“Nancy?” whispered Helen worriedly.   
Nancy couldn’t speak for a hot second. When she did finally find her voice again, it was alternating between a shrill shriek and a shuddering whisper, trying her hardest to stay calm, but deep down, she knew, something terrible had happened. “Wh-what? Are, are you sure? You know he would have called us if he was on his way back.”   
“That’s what I mean, Nancy! He didn’t call me! I was hoping he had called you, but it sounds like he didn’t!” Hannah paused and sounded like she was beginning to hyperventilate a bit. “Oh, Nancy, this could only mean something happened to him before he left Chicago!”   
Nancy gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. A tear fell down her cheek as a name seared itself into her brain. Nathan Gomber. “H-Hannah, when, when did they say Dad was supposed to call them?”   
“Yesterday! They only waited until now to call because they wanted to let him rest a bit! But now . . . oh Nancy, and to think we were just talking about this!”   
“Y-yeah, sounds like your instinct was right on this one.” Nancy pinched her nose. “Hannah, did you call Chief McGinnis?”   
“No, I wanted to call and let you know right away. If Chief McGinnis should call you away from Twin Elms . . .”   
“Oh Hannah, he can’t! I think Nathan Gomber is behind this, and he could be holding Dad hostage in the secret tunnels under the house!”   
Helen gasped as her eyes widened. “What?”   
Nancy held up her hand, Helen had only been listening to her side of the conversation, but she was sure to figure it out soon. If she hadn’t by now with that statement. “Please Hannah, if he does insist, please let him know that I can’t!”   
Hannah sighed. “Alright, alright, maybe with you and the police looking, you’ll find him much faster. Speaking of, I should call them and let them know about this. I just, I had to call you first and let you hear it from me before the police called you.”   
Nancy sighed. “Thank you Hannah. I love you.”   
“I love you too, darling.” Hannah hung up the phone. Nancy also hung up and walked towards her car as if in a daze.   
“Nancy, Nancy! Wait! I don’t think you should be driving!” called out Helen. But Nancy got into the driver’s seat. Helen quickly got into the passenger side. “Nancy, talk to me.”   
“Hannah said that, that Dad was supposed to have been back yesterday,” whispered Nancy as a few tears trickled down her face. “The, the company was waiting for a call from him.” She sniffled. “And Gomber came this morning and threatened to harm him if I didn’t lay off my investigation!” She gripped the wheel until her knuckles began turning white. “I, I didn’t know at that time! I didn’t know! Oh Dad!” She fought to keep the tears from coming, but a few still contined to trickle out. “I have to . . . I have to . . . oh, I have to do something! But what?” Her lips quivered. “Maybe, maybe I should stop investigating, if Gomber really has my Dad.”   
“No, Nancy! You have to find him! You can still find him!” exclaimed Helen.   
“I don’t know if I can! I can’t find that stupid tunnel!” shouted Nancy. She burst into tears. “I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t find it! If I had found it by now, Dad wouldn’t be there!” She buried her head in her hands. “Oh what can I do now? What can I do?”   
Helen tried her best to hold her friend. “What you can do now is find that tunnel. It’s your Dad’s best chance! We know it’s got to be in Gomber’s room!”   
“But he’s not going to let us get in there again. They must know we were in there!”   
“You can’t know that. Besides, there’s still the opening in Aunt Flora’s room.”   
“But I couldn’t find it! Oh, it’s hopeless!”   
Helen let out a huff. “Fine, looks like I’m going to need backup.” She pulled out her phone and began dialing a number on her phone. She put it on speaker and set it on the dashboard before grabbing Nancy’s phone, unlocking it, and dialing another number.   
“What, what are you doing?”   
“I don’t care if they’re in the middle of court or anything, this is important,” said Helen as she put Nancy’s phone on speaker as well. Helen’s phone got answered first.   
“Hey Helen, what’s up?” came Bess’s cheery voice.   
“Bess, hey! Is George with you?”   
“Not right now, but I can get her real quick. Why do I hear ringing?”   
“I’ll explain in a moment, just get George, please!”   
“I’m on it!”   
At that moment, Nancy’s phone was answered. “Hey Nancy!” came Joe’s cheery voice. “Frank almost didn’t pick up! The big lout.”   
“Oh shut up Joe, and give me that. Why do you have it on speaker anyway?”   
“Keep it on speaker!” ordered Helen.   
“Uh, why?” asked Frank slowly. Nancy sniffled as she pulled her hands off her face. “Nancy? Nancy what’s wrong?”   
“I’ve got George,” said Bess. “Helen, what is going on?”   
“Bess?” said Joe.   
“Joe?”   
“I have both of our phones on speaker so just listen will you?” said Helen.   
“Is it, did something happen to Mr. Drew?” asked Frank softly.   
“Nancy tell them, tell them everything, please,” coaxed Helen gently.   
“I-I don’t know . . .”   
“Nancy, we’re here for you, you know that, right?” said Frank softly.   
“I know.”   
“We might not be there physically, but we’ll see what we can do to help,” said George.   
Nancy wiped her eyes. “Alright.” So she told them everything about the mystery. She started off slow, but then the words came tumbling out. When she ended with the recent conversation with Hannah, there was a moment of silence.   
“Oh, he definitely kidnapped your dad,” said Joe finally.   
“But, if he was going to threaten Nancy with that information, wouldn’t he have just told her about it this morning?” asked George.   
“She has a point, Joe. There’s something missing,” said Frank.   
“Yeah, the door to the secret tunnel,” quipped Joe.   
“Yeah, my brains,” said Nancy at the same time.  
Bess gasped. “Nancy Drew! You are not missing your brains! Didn’t you just say that the Caldwell brothers didn’t want anyone to find their secret hiding places?”   
“Yeah, and those crooks apparently took the one book with the clues to their locations,” pointed out George. “How did you expect to find something if you have no clue what you’re looking for?”   
“Those Caldwell brothers must have hid those secret doors really well if you can’t hear any hollow sounds,” said Frank.   
“That too,” said George.   
“And that Gomber fellow just so happened to get into the one room that had the easiest one to find!” said Bess.   
“Or was it a coincidence?” said Joe. “Maybe they already knew about it some time ago and cooked up this plan to strike at the right moment.”   
“But they’re striking now. Why?” asked Frank. “What’s happened recently that they would strike now?”   
“Or what’s going to happen that they need to strike now?” said Joe.   
Nancy sat up straight and gasped. “The railroad!”   
“What?” chorused the Hardys.   
“What railroad?” chorused the cousins. Nancy quickly explained her father’s case.   
“We’re getting our very own train station! Woohoo!” exclaimed Bess.   
“It’s about time you guys caught up to Bayport,” said Joe.   
“But, how does that tie into Twin Elms?” asked Frank.   
This time Helen gasped. “If Gomber can purchase Twin Elms for cheap, he could sell it to the railroad company at a high price!”   
Nancy nodded. “They’re willing to pay anything.”  
“But, what would that mean for Lilac Inn?” asked Bess worriedly.   
“Loads of customers!” said Joe.   
“If the railroad wouldn’t need that land for the station or the tracks,” said Frank. “Because if Lilac Inn will boom because of this, you can bet Gomber’s probably thought about purchasing it.”   
“And we haven’t asked Jane about that!” said Helen. “We only asked her to get into his room.”   
“She did mention that she didn’t trust him . . .” Nancy glanced at Helen. “I think we should head back to Lilac Inn and talk to Jane some more about Gomber.”   
“Oh I hope he isn’t around when we get there,” said Helen.   
“There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to go there. But if Jane does tell us that Gomber wanted to buy Lilac Inn . . .”   
“It could prove that Gomber is looking to sell to the railroad company,” said Frank. “And that maybe he needs your dad for more than just to get you off your case.”   
“Aw, it’s adorable when you two finish each other’s sentences,” said Bess. Nancy gasped. Helen snorted. George groaned. Frank let out a squawk.   
Joe just tsked. “Elizabeth Marvin, how could you?”   
“How could I what, Joseph Hardy?”   
“Take the words right out of my mouth.”   
“Joe!!” said Frank.   
“What? I mean, other than the fact that the two cases were related from the start, what else could I say?” quipped Joe.   
Frank groaned. “Why are you such an idiot?”  
Joe scoffed. “Because you didn’t want to share the brains.” Bess started giggling, and that got the rest of the girls laughing, even Nancy. Even Frank had to chuckle.   
“OK, Joe, maybe that was good.”   
Joe scoffed. “Maybe, maybe? Man, I didn’t ask for your opinion. It got Nancy to laugh, that means it was good. Right Nance?”   
Nancy wiped a tear from her eye. “I guess so.”   
“You guess so? Man, you’re harder than I thought.”   
“It’s the thought that counts,” said Nancy. “And I thank you all for cheering me up and helping me figure some things out.”   
“Hey, you helped us in ours, it was only fair,” said Joe.   
“And you are our friend. We’ll always have your back,” said Frank.   
“Oooh,” said Bess and Helen at the same time. Nancy thought she would blush, but she didn’t, not much anyway. She had more pressing things at the moment. Thanks to all five of them, she felt like she could tear down both Twin Elms and Lilac Inn all by herself to find her father. But since that might help Nathan Gomber achieve his goal, she figured just knocking down the door to his room and beating him up would be enough.   
“OK you two, knock it off,” said George. “Nancy has a mystery to solve. We’d better let her get to it.”   
“That is very true, but can you two do it again? Frank’s face got really red.”   
“I know where you sleep.”   
“Oh good, then if I forget, you’ll know where to show me.”   
There was silence on their line before Frank spoke again. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad, Nancy, but I know you’ll find him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a little brother to whip into shape.”   
“Oh, guess that’s my cue to run. Bye Nancy! Bye girls! Love you Bess!” He blew a kiss, let out a whoop, and they heard him dashing away before Frank hung up the phone.   
George chuckled. “I guess that’s our cue to go as well. Go find your dad, Nancy. You got this!”   
“Good luck!” said Bess.   
“Thank you guys so so much,” said Nancy. “You’re the best!”   
“And you’re the best!” said Bess. “Like George said, you’ve got this! Now go save your dad!”   
Nancy laughed. “I will, thank you.”   
“And thank you for being available at a moment’s notice,” said Helen. “I really appreciate it.”   
“You got it!” said George.   
“I knew my Helen-needed-me-sense was tingling,” said Bess.   
“And your Nancy-was-in-danger-sense too?” teased George.   
“Of course. Well, we’ll see you when we get back!”   
“Bye!” Helen hung up both phones. She pocketed hers and handed Nancy hers back.   
“Thanks Helen,” said Nancy. She put her phone in her purse and hugged her. “You’re the best.”   
Helen smiled as she returned the hug. “Anything for you, Nancy dear. You’re the whole brains of this operation. Besides, you heard them, right? Once we find those tunnels, we can save your dad.” She glnaced at the clock. “I think we have enough time for a visit to Lilac Inn. What do you say?”   
Nancy smiled. “I say, let’s get going.” She started up the car and they were on their way. Thankfully, when they got to Lilac Inn, the rush hour had not begun, and Nancy wondered if one of the cars in the parking lot belonged to Nathan Gomber. They quickly got out and found Jane just coming out of the kitchen.   
“Oh, hello! How have you two been? Why Nancy, have you been crying? Is something the matter?”   
Nancy took in a deep breath before explaining the howle thing. Jane’s eyes grew wider with every word before wrapping Nancy up in a hug.   
“My goodness, child! You just can’t seem to catch a break! I think your friends are right, you will find him.”   
Nancy smiled. “Thank you, Jane. But we just wanted to ask you if Nathan Gomber is here.”   
Jane shook her head. “Not right now, he isn’t. But I expect him back soon. Did you want to check his room again.”   
“I didn’t get to finish the first time. Plus, I don’t think there’s much time to do that before he gets back. No, I just wanted to ask you if Nathan Gomber has ever asked you about selling Lilac Inn.”   
Jane’s eyes widened. “Why yes, yes he did, on several occasions. But I told him that wasn’t going to happen. Not unless Emily and I have decided it was time to move on, and that Gloria’s dream was fulfilled.” Jane pursed her lips. “That man sure had a temper all about it, but then tried to say sorry for it in the morning.” She shook her head. “After the third time I got tired of it and told him that if he didn’t stop pestering me about it, I would throw him out. He threw a huge fuss then, you can ask Mary and Edna about it, they heard every word. But basically he was saying it wasn’t right of me to do so, and I told him I had every right. Emily and I own this business, he doesn’t, nor is it run by a corporate business. I will do what is right for this business and my customers.” She shrugged. “He seemed to think better of it and stormed out, then came back with a sleazy apology.” She sighed. “If he is behind all this, I hope you can solve this mystery soon and get him out of here. Otherwise, I have no good reason to kick him out.”   
Nancy nodded. “I’m working on it. I just need to get into . . .”   
“Sh! Here he comes!” warned Jane.   
“Oh, if he sees us here!” whispered Helen.   
“Quick, in the kitchen!” The two dashed into the kitchen. Nancy had just closed the door when they heard the front door open.   
“Have you changed your mind yet?” they could hear Gomber ask.   
Jane scoffed. “Mr. Gomber, I have not changed my mind! And if you keep asking me, I’m going to be even more determined to not change it!”   
“Yes!” whispered Helen. Nancy hushed her.  
“What was that?” asked Gomber.   
Nancy and Helen glanced at each other in shock. Would he try to investigate? What would happen if he found them here?


	15. A Brand New Determination

Nancy and Helen waited with bated breath as Jane laughed.   
“Why, Mr. Gomber, what are you so concerned about? There are always people at the Inn, someone must have just heard some good news.” She tsked. “My goodness, how many times do I have to keep reminding you that?” Nancy and Helen glanced at each other. She had reminded him of that before? This guy really was on edge. At least on edge around Lilac Inn. Elsewhere, he seemed to be able to hide it well. Nancy wondered why that was. Was Gomber anxious because she and her father were making things harder for him to achieve his goals? What were those goals, in fact? A guy wanting both Lilac Inn and Twin Elms at low prices certainly suggested some nefarious plan, but Nancy had no clue as to what that was, though the Hardys seemed sure that the railroad had something to do with it. She agreed, they had a point, but what exactly did Gomber plan to do with the two properties? She sucked in a soft breath. If she hadn’t found Josiah’s will and not only saved Lilac Inn from financial ruin but also from Marion Aborn and her family, Gomber might have well been the new owner of it by now. She pressed her lips into a thin line. She has practically been a thorn in his side for a while now, without even knowing about it.   
“Oh, fine,” grumbled Gomber. “Has anyone been in my room?”   
“No, no one’s been in your room,” replied Jane. Nancy closed her eyes and let out a very soft breath of relief. She was glad now that she didn’t go in. Sure, she would have found the entry to the secret tunnels and probably some clues to her father’s whereabouts as well as to Gomber’s real plans for the two lots, but right now would have caused Gomber to get rid of all of those clues as well as try something drastic to get away. And if he had found them in the room? Things could have gone downhill real fast, she and Helen might have been captured too, and that would make things really hard to save her father. No, it would be best to wait for Ida and Izzy to come back with their traps and get set up. But Gomber basically confirmed it for Nancy that the most findable entrance to the secret tunnels was in his room.   
“Good,” he mumbled.   
“Was there anything else you needed?”   
“No,” he mumbled. Nancy and Helen heard him stomping up the stairs.   
“Alright, well, goodbye! See you at supper!” Jane called after him.   
“That woman deserves an award for being so nice to such characters like Gomber,” whispered Helen.   
“Keep it down,” whispered Nancy. “But I do agree with you.” The girls waited a few minutes before Jane opened the door.   
“Alright, he’s gone now.”   
“Thank you,” said Nancy as the two walked out.   
“But he’ll be back down for dinner, so you should get out of here soon.”   
“And we do need to get home and get something to eat,” said Helen. She glanced at Nancy, and Nancy understood she had left out a part. They also had to find out what the ghost had been up to and figure out some way to fortify their room while they slept. It was going to be the two of them without anyone else. Nancy pursed her lips. Unless she got Chief McGinnis to send an officer again. That might have to be the way to go.   
She merely nodded. “Yes, we should. But first.” She turned to Jane. “You still have my number?”   
Jane smiled. “Of course!”   
“Great! If you, Edna, and Mary could watch Nathan Gomber and see if he has a schedule he keeps to, maybe we could find an opening for us to look at his room, even a quick one, that would be great. Just send me a text with the times when he’s usually out for the longest.”   
Jane nodded. “That we can do. Mary and Edna might be able to help you more with that, but I’ll see what we observe and keep you posted.”   
Nancy smiled. “Thanks. Talk to you later!”   
“Thank you! And send Emily my love when you see her!”   
“We will! Bye!” chorused Nancy and Helen. They waved and quickly walked out of the Inn.   
Helen let out a breath as soon as the car doors were closed. “Um, Nancy?”   
“Yes?”   
“Do you think Chief McGinnia would be able to send an officer over to watch the house?”   
Nancy smiled as she pulled out her phone. “I was just thinking the same thing.”   
Helen sighed with relief. “Oh thank goodness, great minds do think alike.”   
“Speaking of great minds, how about you contact the rest of the gang and see if any of them can come with us. If I know how Chief McGinnis thinks, he’s going to want us out of the house.”   
“On it,” said Helen, pulling out her own phone.   
“Thank you,” said Nancy before dialing Chief McGinnis’s office. The phone rang a few times before McGinnis picked up.   
“Nancy! Where are you? Are you alright?”   
“I’m fine, Chief,” said Nancy slowly, wondering what the heck was going on. “I’m sitting outside Lilac Inn in my car with Helen Corning. Can I ask you to send another man to the house, please?”   
“Where is everyone else?” Nancy explained the situation, including her suspicions of Nathan Gomber in Carson’s kidnapping, and that it would be just her and Helen spending the night. “Nancy, I want you to go home.”   
“But Chief!”   
“Please go home. I promised your father that I would make sure you are safe. And since he has been kidnapped by whom you consider your prime suspect in your own case, it would be wise for you to spend the night away from Twin Elms where it’s already been established that there are tunnels between that and Lilac Inn. I will still send an officer over there, but I want you and Helen out of the house. At least for tonight, please, Nancy, just tonight. Your friends will definitely be back tomorrow?”   
Nancy sighed. “Yes, they will.”   
“Alright, wil that work for you, then? Just tonight, Nancy, that’s all I’m asking, just for tonight.”   
Nancy placed her hand over the mouth piece and turned to Helen. “Any body?” she whispered.   
Helen pursed her lips and shook her head. “No one can come tonight.”   
Nancy sighed. “Alright.” She took her hand off the moutpiece. “Fine, just for tonight.”   
She could hear the immense relief in McGinnis’s sigh. “Thank you Nancy. If you’d like, I can come over and give you what we’ve found on your father’s disappearance.”   
Nancy bit her lip. “Oh, alright Chief.”   
“Alright, I’ll be at your place at eight. That should give you enough time to get your things together and get to your house.”   
“Alright, we’ll see you at eight.”   
“Thank you Nancy. See you at eight.” He hung up the phone.   
Nancy sighed as she too hung up the phone. “We’re going to get our things and go to my house, just for tonight. But the Chief will send an officer to watch the house all night long.”   
Helen patted her shoulder. “Chief McGinis is just looking out for your well-being. He did promise your dad to look after you. And I think a little break from the house is a good thing, for the both of us.”   
Nancy sighed as she started the car. “I hope so.” The two got to Twin Elms and quickly went about packing their things. They straightened everything up and put Ida’s, Izzy’s and Emily’s clothes in the closets. Nancy and Helen also went around taking pictures of everything. If anything was out of place in their absense, they would know. The officer showed up right as they were walking out the door with their bags.   
“Oh, Officer Patrick!” said Nancy.  
Tom Patrick tipped his hat. “Hello Miss Drew, I am a bit early, but I was thinking that I would get the key to the house from you so I can make the rounds in the house.”   
“Oh, that is a good idea.” Nancy turned to Helen. “Do you have an extra key?”   
Helen shook her head. “No, I don’t.” She pulled out the key she had. “But I will give you this. If you could return this to me tomorrow morning?”   
Tom took it with a grin. “Get here early enough tomorrow morning and I will hand it back personally.”   
“Aww, you’re sweet,” said Helen. “But you’re a little too old for us.”   
Tom laughed. “Duly noted.” He turned to Nancy. “And the Chief gave me your number, Miss Drew, I will text you with reports.”   
“Thank you Officer Patrick,” said Nancy. “And when you do make your rounds inside, could you look for any possible openings? Maybe a fresh pair of eyes is what we really need.”   
“I can do that for you. You two get a good night’s rest tonight. I will see you in the morning.”   
“Thank you!” the girls chorused.   
He tipped his hat. “You’re welcome.” The girls got into Nancy’s car and they went to Nancy’s house.   
Hannah and Togo were practically at the door, waiting for them when they arrived. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here!” exclaimed Hannah as she pulled Nancy into a big hug. Togo raced around and between their feet, excited to see his mistress. “Chief McGinnis told me he was coming by later this evening, after you had gotten here, with some information regarding your father’s disappearance.”   
Nancy nodded. “Yes, that’s what he told me too.”   
“Well then, let’s get your things in your room. I fixed a little something for you to eat.”   
“Oh Hannah, you’re the best,” said Nancy, giving her a big hug. With Hannah’s help, the two quickly moved their bags into Nancy’s room. They came back down stairs and the two saw that Hannah had basically cooked up a feast. The three ate in silence for the most part, and Nancy kept glancing at her father’s chair.   
After helping Hannah clean up the kitchen, the three went into the living room to wait for Chief McGinnis’s arrival. All of them grabbed a book to read, but as before, Nancy kept looking to her father’s chair, and then the door.  
Hannah scooted closer to Nancy. “Nancy?”   
“I keep, I keep thinking that he’s going to come through that door any minute now and say he found something big on Gomber but . . . but . . .”   
“Oh Nancy.” Hannah pulled her close as the tears fell from Nancy’s eyes. Helen scooted closer as well and rubbed her back. Togo whimpered, trying to figure out what was making her so sad, wanting her to cheer up. All four went silent as the doorbell chimed. Hannah gently pushed Nancy closer to Helen so she could get up and get the door. Chief McGinnis walked in.   
“Hello everyone.” He shot Nancy a sad smile. “You were hoping it was your dad, huh?”   
A few more tears trickled down her face as Nancy nodded. “Yeah.”   
“I’m sorry Nancy, but it is true, your dad has gone missing.” He sighed as he proceeded to sit down in one of the chairs. “We talked with the railroad company he was representing, and their stories collaborate, he was supposed to call them last night and only called this afternoon because they had thought he had gotten in late or something.” He let out a breath. “And, we did find your dad’s car.”   
Nancy sat up straight, her eyes wide. “Where?”   
“It’s still sitting in the hotel parking lot. So are his clothes.”   
Nancy’s eyes widened even more. “Wh-what?”   
“The police there have talked with the hotel staff and have looked into the surveillance cameras. They didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Well, except for his final moment on the camera. He went back in, and didn’t come out.”   
Nancy paled. “What, what does that mean?”   
“Someone could have knocked him out in his own room. There weren’t any signs of a scuffle, there is no body, and there’s definitely no blood. He was on the bottom floor, so I can see how that made that easier for the kidnappers. If Gomber is indeed behind this, it’s obvious he wants your father alive.” He leaned closer to Nancy. “Now, you’re positive Gomber didn’t mention holding your father hostage when he spoke to you this morning?”   
Nancy shook her head. “Nothing of that sort, just told me we would regret crossing his path and that we might get hurt. Nothing about him holding Dad.”   
McGinnis tapped his chin and glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late, but I think your friends might be on to something with the railroad aspect. I’d like to stop by tomorrow and get all the information I can from your father’s case files.”   
Nancy nodded. “Of course!”   
“Good then,” said McGinnis. He stood up. “Well then, I will see you in the morning. Maybe we might have more information by tomorrow. No guarantees though. Please get some rest Nancy, I think you’re going to need every ounce of energy you’ve got to crack this case.”   
Nancy stood up as well, determination set in her eyes. “I will.”   
McGinnis smiled. “Good. Well, good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”   
“Good night Chief!” they chorused. Hannah saw him to the door.   
Helen turned to Nancy. “He didn’t even leave his hotel room? How is that possible?”   
“I-I guess the cameras aren’t facing the windows and the kidnappers got in and got him out that way. But I fear the longer we wait, the worse things are going to get for Dad. As soon as Ida and Izzy get back, we ned to get those traps set up.” Nancy pulled out her phone. “As a matter of fact, it probably would be best to do the rest of our planning here. We’ll go by Twin Elms in the morning to get the key and check on the house. But then we head back here and get to work planning.” She sent a text to Ida and Izzy. “We have got to have a breakthrough soon, we just have to! Otherwise, we will tear that house apart. My Dad’s life could depend on it!” Nancy clenched her teeth as her hand curled tight around her phone. “And Nathan Gomber is going to wish he had never messed with us, much less met us!”


	16. Planning a Trap

Wednesday morning dawned bright and early. The sun shone into the room, as if it was trying to brighten the room with smiles and laughter. Birds were chirping outside the window. Togo had crawled into bed with Nancy, and she now had both arms wrapped around him gently. Her eyes flickered open for a brief moment before closing them again, just wanting to feel the warm sun rays on her skin and to let the birdsong cheer her. Togo apparently just had to interrupt the moment by licking her face.   
“Ugh, Togo, no licking!” He began to whimper. “Oh, do you need to go?” He gave a yip. Nancy sighed as she sat up and placed Togo on the floor. “Alright, let’s go. Thank you for not wetting my bed.” She picked him up and carried him down the stairs, putting him down at the back door. She opened it and he tore outside. She closed it while he did his business and poured herself a glass of milk. As she drank, she thought over the mystery. Had it really been a week since she started on it? The days really flew by. And were the Hardys still having to appear in court? It shouldn’t take that long, right? She smirked, one thing was for sure, if she solved this mystery before they got out of court, they would finally be caught up. They would have each solved two mysteries and be ready for a third. But first she had to solve this one, and fast.   
She sighed as she took another sip, thinking back again of the start of the mystery. Nathan Gomber really didn’t any other options as to who the villain behind all this was. He was crude, creepy, made her feel uneasy, and had such impeccable timing, like those villains who always seemed to know where the hero was. She sat up straighter as her eyes widened. Yes, that was right, Nathan Gomber had impeccable timing. He arrived at the house not long after Carson did! Why didn’t he go to Carson’s office first? Sure, he could have still gone to the office right after Carson had left and would have been only a few minutes behind him once he was told he went home, but not only did he not mention going to Carson’s office first, but he had noticed Nancy first. Had he only come to the house to get an understanding of what Carson’s weaknesses were? If so, he would know by now Carson would do anything to protect his daughter. But then, why hadn’t he kidnapped her yet? Was it because she was surrounded by so many people? She pursed her lips. McGinnis was right to have her come home for the night, who knows if tonight was the night they would have struck and forced her father’s hand. So thatlittle civil talk was just a ruse to get into the house and get a feel for Carson’s weak spots. One might think her crazy for such a notion, but for one other thing.   
Nancy quickly stood up and walked into the living room. She went to the window and pulled back the curtain. There was nothing on the opposite side of the street, at least, nothing out of the ordinary. But she distinctly remembered seeing a car parked outside their house, only leaving once the twins had left to get extra clothes. They had been watched, hadn’t they? She pursed her lips, Joe could very well be right and the crooks had been planning this well in advance. It’s just the railroad plans were moving faster than they had anticipated and they had to act fast. However, both Drews stood in their way, and they needed them out of the way. Well, for now, just one Drew in their way, and she was not going to let them take her off guard or get captured.   
Togo scratched at the back door, pulling her out of her musings. She went to open it and let him in. She poured food into his bowl and gave him a treat. “Good boy,” she said, petting him. With a sigh, she stood up and cleaned her hands before finishing up her milk. Her thoughts turned back yet again to the mystery. So basically she had known who the villain was from the very beginning, she had just been working on how his accomplice got in and out of Twin Elms. But that angle seemed to get her nowhere. The Caldwells had indeed hidden the secret entrances to their underground tunnel very well and Gomber had the only book that had the clues to them. It was quite possible it was time to come at the mystery from a new angle, that of capturing Gomber and his accomplice, which they were planning to do with Ida’s and Izzy’s traps. She hoped they got a good one. She figured they might as well have an officer nearby, they would be needed to make the arrest. She nodded as a new plan was forming in her head. Yes, have an officer at Twin Elms, and one at Lilac Inn, as well as a trap at both, so that way they could capture them at either entrance. They couldn’t stay in the tunnels for very long.   
But then came two problems. One, they could easily use Carson as a hostage, and would most likely be the route they would take. Two, there could be a third entrance, one that went directly to the outside. None of them knew that much about the tunnels besides the fact that they connected Twin Elms and Lilac Inn. There could be an exit to a different spot between the two houses. Or anywhere, to be honest. Nancy gritted her teeth. There were too many issues with it at the moment. But, maybe they could still catch the accomplice before needing to get into the tunnels to save Carson and apprehend Gomber.   
Helen walked into the kitchen, stifling a yawn. “Good morning.”   
Nancy smiled. “Good morning.”  
“You're up early.”   
Nancy pointed at Togo who was busy chewing away. “Togo needed to go out.”   
“Ah,” said Helen. She slid into the next chair. “And then you got to thinking.”  
Nancy chuckled softly. “You know me too well.”   
“So, what are you thinking?”   
“That if we do this trap, we’re going to have to be quick and quiet about it. They could use my father as a hostage.” She let out a huff. “And then I got to thinking about what Frank and Joe said about Gomber possibly having been planning this for a while now. Helen, I’m beginning to think this was a big scheme that's been in the planning process for some time. I should have told you this earlier, but I looked out the window when the twins left to go get some more clothes, there was a car parked across the street. It left not long after the twins did, but I remember thinking at the time that it seemed kinda odd. I brushed it aside, thinking later that it could have been someone visiting at the house across the street. But now that I think back on it, it seems like Gomber was watching us, planning his next move.”   
“To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be surprised. That man is so creepy and cruel. Ugh!” Helen shivered.  
“Oh yeah, he definitely is.” Nancy glanced at the clock. “And I think we should hurry and get to Twin Elms. I'm sure Officer Patrick would like to get some sleep.”   
Helen jumped up. “Oh, you're right! We should hurry!” The two dashed up the stairs, passing Hannah on the way up.   
“Where are you two off in a hurry?”   
“We need to get the key to Twin Elms from Officer Patrick. We'll be back soon!” Nancy quickly explained before the two girls ducked into their rooms and quickly changed. A minute later, they were out the door and getting into Nancy's car. Nancy fished in her purse and handed her phone to Helen. “Can you check to see he texted me? I completely forgot to check.   
Helen checked. “I only see one from an unrecognizable number saying, 'I think I just met your owl friend. Otherwise, all quiet’. And that was sent at two in the morning.”   
“Wait, that thing’s still hanging around?” asked Nancy incredulously.   
Helen chuckled. “I guess so. I do hope it’s just hanging around to get back at Gomber for putting it through all that.”   
Nancy scoffed. “It could be hanging around to get back at me, you know.”   
“Well,” said Helen, “I would say most likely not, but it is a possibility.”   
Nancy chuckled. “Oh thanks.” When they got to Twin Elms, they saw that Tom was leaning up against his squad car, doing something on his phone. He glanced up when they pulled in and waved and smiled at them. He walked to their car once they parked. Helen rolled down the window.   
“I was just going to text you and find out when you were coming.” He handed her the key.   
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done,” said Nancy. “It was quiet the whole night?”   
“For the most part. The Chief told me you had a, uh, dealing with an owl here one night. I think he’s still on the property. Gave me quite the scare. But I think he thinks the place is home now.”   
“As long as he proves to be a better watchdog than an intruder, I think he can stay,” said Nancy. “Even though it’s not my property.”   
Tom chuckled. “Well, let’s hope he is. I couldn’t exactly be everywhere at once.”   
“But despite that, it was a pretty quiet night?” asked Nancy.   
Tom nodded. “It was. Your ghost must have known there was no one here but him and me, and I don’t think he would have wanted me to catch him.”   
Nancy sighed. “Yeah, well, I hope we do catch him soon, him and Gomber. We have got to put an end to this so that Aunt Flora and Aunt Rosemary can live here in peace.”   
“I agree.” Tom yawned. “Oof, I’m sorry, but I think I should go so I don’t fall asleep at the wheel.”   
“Would you like me to drive you anywhere?”   
Tom shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I have just enough caffeine left to get me home. You two take care. I’ll see you around.”   
“Thanks again for everything!” the two chorused.   
He waved. “No problem!” He got into his car and took off.  
Nancy glanced at the house before unbuckling. “I think we should take a walk through the house, just to make sure nothing was disturbed or taken.”   
“Good idea,” said Helen as she too unbuckled. At that moment, another car pulled. Helen waved cheerfully. “Ida! Izzy! Perfect timing! We were just heading inside!”   
Ida grinned as she and her twin got out of the car. “But of course!”   
“What are you two doing here though,” said Nancy, keeping her voice low. “I thought we agreed to plan the traps at my house.”   
“We are,” said Izzy, keeping her voice equally as low, “but we need to make sure our traps will fit.”   
“And since Lilac Inn is practically its identical twin, everything that fits here should fit over there,” said Ida.  
“Oh, good point,” said Helen. “Well, shall we go in? I feel more confident knowing we have more people here.”   
“I don’t blame you,” said Ida, hooking her arm with Helen. The four walked up to the house and Helen unlocked it. They did a fairly quick search on the first floor. Nothing was missing or moved, as far as they could tell. Nancy and Helen had their phones out, checking spots with the pictures they took the night before. Everything seemed to be in place.   
“OK, time for the second floor,” said Helen slightly nervously as the four paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh I do hope we solve this soon. I’m tired of being scared of a place where I have many wonderful childhood memories.”   
Nancy placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, it will be over soon. But first, let’s just see if that ghost decided to do anything last night.” Helen nodded and the four went up the stairs. As with the first floor, everything seemed in order. Even Flora’s and Rosemary’s jewelry were still there, well, that is, what was there the night before that the ghost hadn’t taken on previous raids.   
Satisfied with their search, the girls decided to search again, this time to cover for Ida and Izzy taking measurements. The twins were quick, and the four were quickly back in their cars.  
“Well, I’m glad that part’s over, “said Helen with a heavy sigh. “Now let’s hope that ghost wasn’t around or suspects anything.”   
“I guess we’ll find out real soon,” said Nancy as she pulled out of the driveway and led the way back to her house. Hannah had a big, delicious brunch all ready for them. They wolfed it down, the nervousness from before having made them rather famished. But while they ate, they took out some paper and pencils. With some photos and their memories, the four made rough floor plans for both Twin Elms and Lilac Inn.   
“Alright, Captain Drew, which rooms do you think we should focus on?” asked Izzy before taking a big bite.   
Nancy chewed thoughtfully as she glanced over their crude floor plans. She drew a circle around Flora’s room with her finger. “Definitely need one in here, this seems to be his main entrance.” She then circled the attic. “And I think we should have one here, just in case.” She sighed. “I just wish we knew more about the tunnels in general, where they opened up to in particular.”   
Izzy shrugged as she took the pencil and circled the two rooms. “Well, guess we shall find out. Do you think there should be any other places to cover at Twin Elms?”   
Nancy took another bite and chewed while she glanced over the floor plans again. “Well, maybe we only need one more near the doors, or something like that, just in case he tries getting out that way.”   
Izzy nodded as she circled the front and back doors. “Sounds good.” She slid over the floor plans for Lilac Inn. “And here?”   
Nancy circled the room where Gomber was staying. “Definitely here, and maybe the attic as well, just in case. Plus, of course, the front and back doors.”   
Izzy circled those as well. “Alright. And we are going to have to clean up a bit, it will help the traps stay in place.” Nancy pressed her fingers together. “What?”   
“Hmm,” said Nancy, “I didn’t check the sitting room.”   
“But if we know it’s in Gomber’s room . . .” began Helen.   
“But the sitting room was the only other room we didn’t check,” pointed out Nancy. “We need to make sure all our bases are covered.”   
“And we are going to cover our bases,” said Izzy, “we just need to get those traps up soon.” She paused. “But we’re pretty sure sure the ghost was listening to us while we were at Lilac Inn, right?”   
Nancy grinned. “We can look into the sitting room, it will be our distraction so you can get your traps up!”   
Izzy winked. “Great minds think alike!”   
“Alright, so we’re heading back to Lilac Inn,” said Helen. “But how do we get the ghost to go to Lilac Inn for sure?”   
“I think we should go over there and make the big announcement,” said Nancy with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes  
Izzy rubbed her hands with glee. “I like this.” She glanced at the clock. “We should head over there soon. It’s going to take me and Ida about two hours to get everything set up at Twin Elms, plus another hour if all four of us are cleaning.” She glanced at Nancy. “And then getting him back to Twin Elms for us to set up the traps at Lilac Inn.”   
Nancy nodded. “We'll make the announcement that we’re leaving and that maybe we can find the secret entrance at Twin Elms real soon. Maybe even tomorrow.” Nancy shrugged, then smiled.   
Izzy grinned. “Great. Then let's go!”   
Ida giggled. “This is going to be so much fun!”   
“And I’m glad you're on our side,” muttered Helen. The others laughed as they stood up. They cleaned up and quickly dashed out to the cars. Nancy's spirit was high. They could do this, they had to.   
They got to the house fairly quickly and quickly got around to cleaning. When they were satisfied with their work, Izzy asked the question.   
“So, now what?”   
“Well, I should head over to Lilac Inn and see if I can get into Gomber's room.” The twins and Helen glanced at Nancy quizzically. She winked. “We know he's got to come out at some point.”   
“Yeah, but, wouldn't that mean the ghost will wreak havoc here?” asked Helen. “I just cleaned up, I don't need him making another mess.”  
“Well that's why Ida and Izzy should stay here. They’ll be able to catch him!”   
Izzy's and Ida’s eyes widened. “Oh!”   
“That's a good idea!” said Izzy.   
“Are you sure that's a good idea, though?” asked Helen. “What if something happens to them?”   
Izzy scoffed. “I’d like to see him try.”   
Nancy smiled. “See? We’re good. Besides, it's not like we're going to the other side of town.”   
Helen sighed. “Alright, let's go.”   
“Great! The faster we find that entrance, the faster we can save my dad,” said Nancy with finality. Ida and Izzy nodded before going up the stairs. Nancy and Helen walked out the door and quickly got into the car.   
“I still think that was a pretty risky thing to say,” said Helen as they buckled in. “I don't like the idea of Ida and Izzy all alone in that house. Chief McGinnis didn't even want us in that house.”   
“That's because he was thinking of my dad,” said Nancy. “He knows Dad wants me safe.”   
“Yeah, well, I don't blame him,” muttered Helen. She glanced at the house as Nancy began to pull out of the driveway. “Nancy, the twins went upstairs, right?”   
“Yes.”   
“Then who’s walking around in the sitting room?”   
Nancy's eyes snapped to the window, just in time to see a man in forties clothing open the shutters and glare at them!


	17. A Big Mistake

Helen let out a scream as the guy closed the shutters. Nancy gunned the car and quickly parked in the driveway. She turned off her engine, pulled the key out, and was racing towards the front door. Helen had her key out and was unlocking it quickly.   
“Izzy! Ida!” Nancy shouted. “He was in the sitting room!” Two pairs of feet came rushing down the stairs. The twins met up with Nancy and Helen at the doorway to the sitting room.   
“What’s this you said about him being in here?” asked Ida, a little breathless from their dash.   
“He, he was!” exclaimed Helen. She pointed to the window. “He was just there!”   
“What?” exclaimed the twins.   
Nancy nodded. “He was there, glaring at us from the window.”   
“Yes, not more than five minues ago!” Helen glanced around the room. “I hate this, I hate this!”   
Nancy put an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Helen, calm down. He just made the biggest mistake.”   
The three glanced at her. “He did?”   
“Yes he did,” said Nancy with a nod. She turned to the room and shouted into it. “You hear me? You just made the biggest mistake!”   
“Nancy, I don’t think that was a good idea,” whispered Helen.   
“You may be right,” muttered Nancy, “but I’m done with all of this. I’m done with them trying to scare you and your grandmother out of this house that has been in your family for generations now, and I’m done with them threatening me and my father!” A tear fell down her cheek. She clenched and unclenched her fists a few times while taking a few deep breaths. She glanced around the room. “And now we know there’s got to be a secret entrance in here. Just, where is it?”   
“Maybe there’s a similar one at Lilac Inn!” exclaimed Ida.   
“But we need to find this one first,” said Nancy firmly. “Everyone, take a side and go over every corner carefully.”   
“Nancy, this could put your father in more danger!” said Helen.   
“Or it could save him. We’ve just got to try!”   
“Any chance we have at saving him is better than no chance,” remarked Izzy, placing a reassuring hand on Nancy’s shoulder. The others agreed and the four went about searching the room as if with a fine-tooth comb. But nothing turned up or happened.   
Nancy was feeling particularly frustrated and felt the need to leave the room. She wanted to scream, she wanted to throw things, she wanted to kick down the walls, but she knew that would make her worse than her adversaries. She opened the front door and walked out onto the porch.. She took in a few deep breaths of air. What was she missing? How was she going about this the wrong way? Something must be missing, otherwise, she would have found it by now. The Caldwells didn’t want anyone else to find it except their heirs using the poems Jim Caldwell wrote. But, since she didn’t have that book, she literally had no clue how to find it or even what to look for. She just had definite ideas of the rooms where the secret doors were hidden, just not which part of the room exactly to find them in. She clenched her fists. They had to get into Gomber’s room at Lilac Inn somehow, some way. But she knew he wouldn’t let her, not without kidnapping her to use her to get her father to do whatever he wanted. She took another deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. There had to be another way. They had kept looking in both houses, Twin Elms three times now, and nothing showed up. What was she missing? If only she had the book of poems!   
“Nancy dear, are you alright?” Nancy blinked. Emily and Rosemary were helping Flora to the front door.   
“Why Aunt Flora, Aunt Rosemary! Should you even be here?”   
Flora waved her hand. “I can finish healing here just fine, dear.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “But you seem to be in distress. What happened?”   
“Oh, Grandma!” Helen and the twins came out to welcome the three back and in hushed tones, everything was revealed and the plan explained.   
“Wait, you really think the ghost will fall into one of the traps?” asked Emily.   
“I’m hoping so,” replied Nancy, “and I’m planning on having the police nearby to catch him.”   
“But how do you know this will work?” asked Rosemary, shooting a concerned glance at the house. “We can’t know when he’ll show up or where he is now, as he just proved to you.”   
Nancy sighed. “I know, I know, but I’m hoping to find at least one secret door at Lilac Inn and push him into trying to escape here.”   
“And hoping to catch Gomber and find your father all the same time?” asked Rosemary.   
Nancy shot her a sheepish grin. “Kinda?” She sighed. “I’m just, I’m just done with all of this. I want my Dad to come home.”   
Rosemary pulled her into a hug. “He will darling, he will, and we’ll do whatever we can to help you get him back. But I’m not quite sure this plan will work.”   
“I know,” said Nancy as she wiped a few stray tears falling down her face, “but it’s the only idea we’ve got and I’m desperate. I don’t know what they’re doing to him.”   
“Which is why I think we should bounce ideas off each other,” said Flora.   
“But how can we do that without the ghost listening in on us?” asked Emily.   
“Well, we could go back to Nancy’s house,” said Izzy with a shrug. “It’s where we went to plan this out.”   
“Yes, we could, but I don’t want to leave your traps exposed,” said Nancy. “And I don’t know if we’ll have much time.”   
“If Gomber hasn’t threatened you with your father’s life, I think it’s safe to say nothing will be done to him just yet,” siad Rosemary. “But Helen said it was confirmed that your father was kidnapped the other night and Gomber confronted you yesterday. Why didn’t he mention it?” asked Rosemary.  
“Oh!” said Helen. “That’s because we’ve figured out a few more things since then! Come on, we should head to Nancy’s house. We can relax a bit there and tell you everything, and not just about the traps.”   
Izzy tapped her chin. “Well, if you could give me and Ida a quick moment, we can have the trap set up in Aunt Flora’s room real quick. At least we’ll have one set up while we’re gone.”   
Nancy nodded. “That might be the best thing to do. Would you like some help?”   
“Just keep an eye out for that ghost if he should try to come back,” said Ida with a wave of her hand. “We’ll make it quick.”   
Izzy scoffed. “We’d better, that guy could come back any minute.” The twins raced back into the house and up the stairs.   
“We’ll meet you at your house,” said Rosemary before she and Emily helped Flora turn and walked back to the car.   
“Sounds good!” said Nancy before dashing into the house.   
“Alright, see you soon, Grandma!” said Helen with a wave before she followed Nancy in. They stayed near the sitting room, keeping an eye on that and the stairs, keeping an ear out should the twins call for them. But in a matter of minutes, the twins came back down the stairs.   
“We’re set!” said Ida with a cheeky grin.   
“Let’s go!” said Izzy before the two were out the front door. Nancy and Helen followed, Helen quickly locking up before joining Nancy in her car. The two cars took off, meeting back at Nancy’s house in a matter of minutes. When they got in, they found that Hannah was already fussing over Flora and making her feel quite comfortable. Meanwhile, Rosemary looked like she was finally relaxing ever since this whole thing started. Hannah greeted the girls upon noticing that they had arrived and asked them if they wanted to eat something.   
“And I’m so glad you're here, Nancy, Chief McGinnis is going to be here in a few minutes.”   
Nancy gasped and smacked her forehead. “Oh, that's right! I completely forgot he was supposed to be coming over today!”   
“Well then, guess it's a good thing we came over,” said Rosemary. She took a sip of the tea Hannah served them. “But this should give us enough time to come up with a few plans.”   
Izzy raised her hand. “Um, would it be bad if I suggested we use Nancy as bait?”   
The others blinked. “Why would you want to use Nancy as bait?” asked Rosemary.   
Ida's eyes widened. “Oh! If they're trying to capture her, then she is perfect for bait!” She grinned at her twin. “That’s brilliant!”   
“No.” Everyone jumped at the stern voice and turned as one. Chief McGinnis glanced at them from the doorway of the living room, Hannah standing behind him. “If you’re planning any sort of traps, you had better let me and my men handle it.”   
“But Chief McGinnis!” began Nancy.   
McGinnis laid a firm hand on her shoulder. “I promised your father I would keep you safe. I would not be keeping that promise if I let you put yourself in harm’s way to save him. Besides, it would do more harm than good.”   
Nancy stood up. “Only if they capture me, which won’t happen because we will have traps set up.”   
“And if they do capture you? What then?”   
“But they won’t.”   
“Nancy, there’s still a chance they will. You need to think about that. We can’t let Gomber have any chances of winning.”   
“He won’t, that’s why we’re planning this.”   
He grabbed her shoulders. “Nancy, stop and think about this.”   
“I have,” she replied in a low voice.   
“No, you have to look at this from all angles, not just one. Your father’s life is at risk, you can’t just take risks just because you want this over with. You have to think about this.” He sighed. “And until you do, I’m taking you off the case.”   
Nancy gasped. “You can’t do that! This is my case!”   
“Have you ever heard of the term ‘emotionally-compromised’? Because you’re it, right now. This case has gotten too personal for you, it’s hit too close to home. I think it’s time we took over.” He pointed to her father’s office. “Besides, you haven’t exactly followed up on the railroad part of it, have you?”   
“No,” Nancy mumbled as she crossed her arms.   
“You see? You aren’t trying to figure out what it is that Gomber wants exactly, you’re just so focused on trying to find the way into the secret tunnels that you’re not paying attention to anything else. The best way to capture your crook is to know him.”   
“How can she do that?” asked Helen. “He’s a crook!”   
“Does he like to plan things out?” asked McGinnis. “Does he act like he’s still in control when he’s cornered or does he turn into a vicious animal?” He glanced at Nancy. “What exactly is his motive? Capturing Nancy might simply be a way of helping him to achieve his goal. And while yes, most criminals are attempting to keep their motives and work a secret, it’s not something they can keep secret for long. They will be found out.” McGinnis pointed at Carson’s office again. “So, shall we find out exactly what the deal is with the railroad?”   
Nancy sighed. “Fine, as long as I can go to Lilac Inn later.”   
“What for?”   
“There was one room I wanted to check, the sitting room. We definitely wouldn’t be able to look into Gomber’s room without a warrant.”   
McGinnis smiled. “Maybe you’re not so emotionally-compromised, but I still want you to take tonight off as well. After you’ve checked out the sitting room at Lilac Inn, of course.”   
“Will we be able to go back to our house for tonight?” asked Flora.   
“With my men there, I don’t see why not,” said McGinnis with a shrug. “But allow us to look through those files, and we will discuss particulars afterwards.”   
Flora nodded. “Sounds good.”   
McGinnis and Nancy walked into Carson’s office and the two looked through Carson’s notes and files on the railroad case. Even though Nancy had looked through her father’s files on numerous occasions without him present, this time was different, and odd. But with McGinnis there with her, poring through all the papers alongside her, helped a bit. They returned to the group and reported their findings.   
Apparently the railroad company was positive the railroad would boom in River Heights and was willing to pay loads of money to get the land they needed to begin work on it. As a matter of fact, several plots of land that had been owned privately had brought in a lot of money to their previous owners and they were sitting quite pretty. Twin Elms and Lilac Inn had been on the list of properties the railroad company was looking at purchasing, but had been crossed off. Flora, Rosemary, and Emily confirmed that the company had approached them about purchasing the properties, but didn’t press further when their offers were declined. Carson’s last note was that he needed to look for two more properties for the railroad to connect to the rest of the tracks. And now McGinnis was satisfied that they had Gomber’s motivation. He wanted the money from the sale, and Twin Elms and Lilac Inn were two he knew the company had been eyeing specifically.   
“So he stoops to trying to scare Grandma and Aunt Flora out of their house so he could get it dirt cheap and get more profit?” asked Helen.   
McGinnis nodded. “It definitely looks that way.”   
“And it would ruin a perfectly good piece of the history of River Heights,” said Flora with a shake of her head.   
“I think we should get Twin Elms and Lilac Inn registered as historic landmarks so this sort of thing can’t happen again,” said Rosemary firmly.   
“Why isn’t it?” asked Hannah.   
Flora chuckled. “Because we’re a couple of stubborn old ladies and we didn’t want to at first. But now, this might be a way to save Twin Elms for future generations.” She patted Helen’s hand. “Even though right now Helen’s to inherit it once we’re gone.”   
“Well I’d better get going and make my report before handing out instructions to men,” said McGinnis as he got ready to leave.   
“Oh, won’t you stay for dinner?” asked Hannah.   
McGinnis thought for a moment. “Sure, why not. It will be easier to think on a full stomach.” With everyone’s help, Hannah prepared a nice meal. With the comfort of the food and the company, they talked of many things, leaving out the haunting and Carson’s disappearance. McGinnis asked them to wait until nine before heading over to Twin Elms, and as soon as dinner was over, he had left. Nancy and Helen left not soon afterwards to head to Lilac Inn. Helen had been tasked to make sure Nancy didn’t do anything rash.   
When they got to Lilac Inn, they had to wait a little while for the guests to finish clearing out of the main floor. It was almost eight when they finally had a chance to get into the sitting room. Jane and the Turnballs were in the kitchen, cleaning things up, but had promised to come running if Nancy and Helen needed anything.   
Nancy and Helen got to work straight away, looking at and touching everything they could. But nothing opened. Nancy sank into a chair, dejected.   
Helen placed a hand on Nancy’s shoulder. “Hey, we’ll figure this out, we’ll catch them and get your dad back. I do think you need a break, like Chief McGinnis said.”   
“But I was so sure there was one here,” whispered Nancy, fighting back the tears. “I just want a break in this mystery, just for once for something to give and we can solve it!”   
“Maybe something will once you’ve had a good night’s rest. Come on, there’s nothing more we can do now.”   
Nancy sniffled, but she nodded and rose from her chair. She paused at the doorway and took one final look around. Helen turned off the light and was already walking towards the kitchen, but Nancy had paused. Noticing that Nancy hadn’t followed her, Helen rejoined her friend.   
“Nancy? What is it?”   
Nancy pointed. “That, that beam of moonlight.” A sliver of moonlight was coming through a tiny hole in the wall and was touching a spot on the wall just above the sofa.  
“What about it? That’s always been there. There’s even one similar to it at Twin Elms.” Helen shrugged. “Hits the same place on the wall too.”   
“Oh how could I have been so stupid,” whispered Nancy as she walked towards the sofa. She touched the wall where the moonlight was hitting it. A tiny gold heart was embedded in the wood. “No way. How did I miss this?”   
“Nancy? What are you talking about?”   
Nancy pressed the heart with her fingernail. Helen covered her mouth as her eyes widened and a soft gasp left her lips. The seat of the sofa had sprung up noiselessly and the two were staring at stairs descending into an earthy hall.


	18. Underground Railroad

“Nancy,” whispered Helen, “oh Nancy. You found it!”   
“Finally,” said Nancy with a sigh of relief. She pulled a flashlight out of her pocket and turned it on.   
Helen grabbed her arm. “You are not going down there. We should let Chief McGinnis know.”   
“We should probably let Jane know where to find the button,” said Nancy, almost in a daze.   
“You’re right about that too. I’ll go get her. Don’t move,” siad Helen before dashing off towards the kitchen. Nancy sank to the floor. She did it, she finally did it, she found an entrance to the secret tunnel. And all it took was timing. She didn’t know how many times they had been in that room and had passed it up. Was the sofa at Twin Elms the same way? It had to have been, it would explain how their ghost got in and out earlier that day! But then, how did he get outside without them seeing him? Was there an exit to the yard as well? There was only one way to find out. She stood up and glanced at the doorway, hushed voices were coming closer. She turned back to the sofa, and stepped in.   
“That is simply amazing!” whispered Jane as she and the Turnbulls followed Helen out of the kitchen. Helen had quickly explained that Nancy found the secret passage and how she found it. “We’ve been in that room so many times and never noticed!”   
“So have we!” whispered Helen. “But we also wouldn’t have noticed it before because we weren’t looking for secret passages before!”   
“You never know what you’ll find when you look for it,” mumbled Mary.   
“Oh Mary, knock it off. I for one am very glad this is almost all over, Nancy will be reunited with her father very soon!” whispered Edna.   
“Oh yes! And then . . .” Helen paused in the doorway, her eyes widening. “Oh no, no no no! I’m so stupid! She went in!” The four quickly went to the sofa and looked in. “I should have known this was going to happen!”   
“Well, you can’t go back now,” muttered Mary.   
Helen huffed. “You’re right, I guess I’m going to have to go in after her.” She turned to the women. “Do you have any flashlights?”   
“We have a couple, I’ll go get them,” said Edna before taking off.   
“I’ll go with you,” said Jane.   
“You’re the manager,” said Mary, “you should stay for when the police show up. I’ll go with her.”   
“Oh Mary, um, you’re not exactly . . .”   
“As young and as agile as I used to be? I know, but I’m still pretty strong, Jane, I can handle anything.”   
“I’m sure you,” said Helen, “but I really would like a fellow to come along. No offence.”   
“None taken, there are some things only a man can do,” siad Mary.   
“Well, the Matthews’s are coming over and dropping off those extras,” said Edna as she entered the room and handed Helen a flashlight. “Maybe we can have one of them go with you.”   
“Oh, that would be great! When are they getting here?”   
Jane glanced at the old clock sitting on the mantle. “They should be here any minute now.”   
“Well, if you can send one of them down, please do, but I must go in after Nancy right now!”   
“You be careful now, you hear?” said Edna as the women helped Helen into the sofa.   
“I will, it’s Nancy we have to worry about.”   
“Right. I’ll contact the police right away,” said Jane before rushing out of the room.   
“And we’ll keep an eye out for the Matthews,” said Mary before they followed her out. Helen turned on the flashlight and looked down the stairs. She took a deep breath and went down.   
Meanwhile, Nancy had been exploring the tunnel. She found that there were three staircases connected to the main tunnel. The shortest one was the way she had entered, from the living room. She had quickly gone up the longest and found that it went into the attic. But she didn’t stay for long to find out exactly where in the attic it opened up to, just took a quick peek and was rushing back down the stairs. She knew then that the medium set of stairs had to go into Gomber’s room, and she was going to see if he was still there. If he wasn’t, then he was in the tunnel, probably with her father. If he was in his room, then she would search for her father, all while keeping an eye out for his accomplice. She paused when she got to the bottom of the medium staircase. Who was his accomplice? While they had known all along that Gomber was behind it all, they had had no clue as to who was working for him, playing as the ghost of Twin Elms. Nancy let out a soft breath as she flashed her light up the stairs and tiptoed up. It didn’t matter now, they were going to find out everything soon enough.   
She waited until she got to the top of the stairs before switching off her flashlight. She didn't want Gomber to know she had found the tunnel just yet. She found a peep hole and peered through it. She let out a soft huff. The door was at the back of the closet and she couldn't see a thing with all the clothes in the way. She decided to risk it and opened the door. Just like with the sofa seat, it opened noiselessly. She paused to listen, but she couldn't hear any movement. She gently pushed the clothes out of the way and looked into Gomber's room. He was nowhere to be seen. Quickly, she closed the door behind her and went straight to the dresser. She took another look around the room before silently opening the top drawer. Inside were several papers. She skimmed through them. The Hardys had been right, Gomber was after both houses to sell to the railroad company for a nice profit. She also found what she figured was the name of his accomplice, Will Wharton. She didn’t find much more than that, nor did she care to. She knew she had to get back into that tunnel and find her father. But first, she had to call Chief McGinnis. He was going to be mad with her, but she had to explore and find out more so she could give him information.   
She went back to the closet and realized with a start that she didn’t know how to get back in. She gritted her teeth. Real stupid move, Nancy, she told herself. She let out a breath and went looking for the opening mechanism. She had theorized that this was the easiest one to find. Now, it was time to find it. She pushed the clothes all the way to the far side of the closet and began her search. The button that opened the sofa was covered by a locket. So what would Jim Caldwell have used in a closet? And it had to have been noticeable enough for someone like Gomber to find it. She glanced at the clothes she pushed to the far end. What if it was on that side? She pushed the clothes back over and shone her flashlight on that wall. She didn’t see anything, so wondered if it had anything to do with touch. She slid her fingers over the wall. She paused as they felt a knot in the wood. Was it really that simple? It had to be. She pushed on it, and the back of the closet swung open.   
“Yes!” Feeling enthusiastic and quite pleased with herself for finding two entrances without needing the book of poems, Nancy closed the door behind her and nearly dashed down the steps. She definitely had to keep herself from squealing too hard. All that excitement and enthusiasm vanished, however, when she noticed a beam of light heading down the tunnel. She turned hers off and crouched at the foot of the stairs. If it was Gomber, she still might be able to take him by surprise. But then she heard her name.   
“Nancy! Nancy, where are you?”   
Nancy let out a breath of relief as she stood up and turned back on her flashlight. “Helen! I’m over here!”   
Helen came towards her and hugged her. “Oh thank goodness I’ve found you! Where have you been? And what were you thinking? I told you to stay put!”   
“You know I couldn’t, not when I’m so close to solving this mystery and finding Dad. And I’m glad I came. This staircase leads to Gomber’s room and he wasn’t in there. Not only were the Hardys right, but I think I might have the name of our ghost.”   
That got Helen’s attention. “Really?” Nancy nodded. “Who is it?”   
“His name is Will Wharton. That’s all the information I found so far, but we at least have a name. And he’s definitely a real man, not a ghost by any stretch of the imagination. As far as I can tell, he’s equally in this whole business with Gomber for the money.”   
Helen scoffed. “I could have figured that much. Now come on, we should let Chief McGinnis know about all of this.”   
Nancy grabbed her arm. “You mean you didn’t call him?”   
“Well, Jane did, but . . .”   
“Then I’m going to continue down this tunnel.”   
“What? No you’re not. If Gomber is in this tunnel, he’s no doubt going to be on the lookout for you and use you to get your dad to do whatever he wants.”   
“Exactly.” Nancy pulled out her phone and went to the recording app. “I could get him to confess while you went for help.”   
Helen gave a defiant shake of her head. “Nope, I am not leaving you. Besides, he’d probably have me cornered just as much as you, so I wouldn’t be able to.” She let out a huff. “I just hope it’s Richard who comes down.”   
Nancy blinked. “Say what?”   
“Oh, that’s right, the Matthews’s are delivering some extras to Lilac Inn. Jane said she’d ask if one of them could come down here and help us out, because we all knew you’d want to continue exploring.”   
Nancy smiled. “You know me too well.”   
Helen scoffed. “Sometimes I also wish I knew you well enough to convince you out of some of this.” She sighed. “But then I realize I do know you well enough to know that wouldn’t work. I can’t wait for Bess and George to get back.”   
“Oh, don’t worry, you know they wouldn’t miss my birthday party.”   
“That’s still over two weeks away.”   
“It’ll be here before you know it, don’t worry. Now come on, let’s see what lies between the two houses.”   
“You mean besides a long tunnel, Nathan Gomber, your dad, and Will Wharton?” asked Helen as she began following Nancy down the tunnel.   
Nancy set her jaw. “I definitely hope so.” With that being said, the two girls walked into the earthy tunnel, the light from their flashlights bouncing off the walls.   
“You do know how long it’s going to take to get from Lilac Inn to Twin Elms, right?” whispered Helen.   
“It’s going to be about half an hour at least,” muttered Nancy.   
“Will Wharton must be getting in his steps every time he makes a trip,” muttered Helen.   
“Well we definitely will be as well,” said Nancy as she swung her flashlight around again. She paused as the light went further. “Why, there are passageways going off the main tunnel!”   
Helen swung her flashlight into the tunnel. “Why, this might be where they hid the escaping slaves!”   
Nancy nodded. “It’s very possible.” She pursed her lips. “And Dad’s probably in one of them.”   
Helen placed her hand on Nancy’s shoulder. “Let’s just concentrate on getting these men rounded up before trying to rescue your dad, they could do something to him if we don’t get them caught by the police first.”   
Nancy nodded. “That I agree with. Let’s see if we can’t flush them out and get them towards Twin Elms, specifically Aunt Flora’s room. I’d like to let Ida’s and Izzy’s trap do some work after all the work they went through putting it up.”   
Helen chuckled. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall to see that.”   
“Nancy? Helen?” The girls jumped at the sound of their names and turned quickly. Their lights fell upon the worried face of Richard Matthews.   
“Oh, Richard! Thank God!”   
“Helen, sh!”   
Helen grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”   
“Were you two planning on walking all the way to Twin Elms?” Richard asked.   
Nancy nodded. “Yes, and I was hoping to flush out the ghost while doing it. See. the twins set up a trap in Aunt Flora’s room, and if there are three staircases at Twin Elms like there are here at Lilac Inn, then the medium-sized staircase would go into Aunt Flora’s room.”   
Richard nodded slowly. “And you want to make sure he goes up that one in particular.”   
“Right.”   
Richard let out a breath. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do to help.”   
Nancy smiled. “Thanks Richard, you’re the best!” He smiled at her. “Alright, let’s go ghost-hunting.” Nancy turned and led the way through the main tunnel. Helen and Richard glanced at each other, sighed, shrugged, and followed.   
They walked on in silence, their ears straining for any sound besides that of their muted footfalls and thunderous hearts. But that was the most they could hear as they walked down the tunnel for what seemed like ages. They did see several other tunnels branch out from the main one, but most within mere feet from where they began, so they could see to the far end of most of them. There were a couple that looked like they went on for longer, and Nancy wondered if the items they stole were hidden in one of those, and maybe even her father.   
“What was that?” whispered Helen. The three paused.   
“What was what?” whispered Richard.   
“I thought I heard something,” whispered Helen. The three paused, barely breathing. Their flashlights danced across the walls as they looked for something that could make a noise, but they didn’t see anything. They turned and looked behind them to make sure no one was trying to sneak up on them, but they didn’t see anyone.   
Helen let out a sigh before turning around. “I was so sure . . . oh!” Nancy and Richard swiveled. There stood a man in his mid-forties with unkempt salt-and-pepper hair, his brown eyes wide and staring at them like a deer caught in headlights.   
“You’re Will Wharton!” exclaimed Nancy. He blinked, turned, and ran.   
“Hey!” Richard bolted after him.   
“Oh, Richard, be careful!” said Helen as she and Nancy took up the pursuit. Nancy came to a stop, noticing with pleasure that Will Wharton was going up the medium set of stairs. Helen came to stop next to her as the two watched Richard chase Wharton up the stairs.   
Nancy turned to Helen with a smile and whispered, “I think Richard’s got this, and the twins.” Her face fell. “But we haven’t seen Gomber.” She turned back to the tunnel. “He could be with Dad.”   
Helen grabbed her arm. “Nancy Drew, we are heading into Twin Elms and getting Chief McGinnis.”   
“He could be too late! Gomber might try to move Dad before he gets down here! We’ve got to at least stall him,” said Nancy. She began walking back into the tunnel.   
Helen sighed. “When you’ve got a point, you’ve got a point.” She followed Nancy back into the tunnel. “Which side tunnel do you think they would have taken your dad?”   
“It would have to be either close to Lilac Inn or in between the two houses,” replied Nancy, quickening her steps. “I don’t think they would have wanted to carry him far.”   
“Thank goodness the majority of these we can see the end so we can figure out where he is hidden faster,” remarked Helen, quickening her own pace.   
Nancy merely nodded as she began flashing her light down each tunnel as they passed. The next minute, they were practically in a jog. They looked down each path quickly before moving on to the next one. There were a couple of side tunnels they noticed turned a corner and dashed down each of those. At the endof one, they could tell Wharton had to have been using as a makeshift camp. They found all the stolen items from Twin Elms stashed away in another, but they only stuffed the jewelry in their pockets and raced back out to the main tunnel. They checked two more side tunnels before finally finding Carson, who was bound to a chair. But he was alone.   
“Dad!” cried out Nancy as she rushed forward to take the gag out of his mouth and began to untie him.   
“Nancy! You shouldn’t be here! Gomber . . .”   
“Didn’t want to miss this little happy reunion.” Helen gasped as Nancy swirled around. There was Gomber and he had a gun aimed at them.


	19. Reunion

“That was a pretty good scheme you had going there,” said Nancy. “Have Will Wharton use the tunnels between Lilac Inn and Twin Elms to try and scare Aunt Flora and Aunt Rosemary out of their home. Then purchase it for cheap and get back a huge profit from the railroad. But I want to know, how were you planning on getting Lilac Inn? What? Were you planning on using the ghost scheme there too? Even though I just caught the last one?”   
Gomber shrugged. “Figured more on infesting the place. Who would want to eat at a place or even stay there with roaches and rats?”   
Helen shivered. “No, no they would not.” But she glared at him. “But it’s certainly cruel of you to wrench these old houses from my family just so you can sell them at a stupidly high profit! What? There were no other lots good enough for you?”   
“There were none that the railroad company wanted as badly as these two. These old fools don’t know what they were missing out on,” said Gomber.   
“So you figured on being the one to take that, didn’t you?” said Nancy. She glanced at her father. “But not only were they being stubborn, but my dad was looking for other property for them to buy that would fit within their plans. That’s why you kidnapped him, to stall him long enough to try and get both places, at least Twin Elms.”   
“Must be feeling awfully proud of yourself for having figured everything out, huh?” said Gomber.   
“But I haven’t figured out how Will Wharton fits into all of this. How did you two meet? How did you convince him to be the ghost?”   
“Will Wharton’s property was one of the ones purchased by the railroad,” said Carson. “Apparently he wants more money.”   
Gomber smirked. “Told you I didn’t have to to tell you anything. You and your brainy daughter have figured everything out.”   
“Except one thing,” said Nancy quickly. She had to keep him talking. Richard would know to come back into the tunnel for them, he just needed to gather the police and come looking for them. Plus, there still were a couple of questions that she wanted answered.   
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” asked Gomber.   
“How did you find the secret tunnel? And if you didn’t have this tunnel, what would you have done instead?”   
“Oh the original plan was to steal one of their keys, get it copied, and use that to get in,” said Gomber with a cruel smirk. But then Will told me tales of the Caldwells hiding escaping slaves very effectively, tales that his grandmother had told him. We figured there had to be a secret passage going between the houses. I had asked the old Jane Willoughby a lot of questions about Lilac Inn before you sent her to jail. Apparently Emily told her enough about the Inn that she could tell me which parts of the Inn hadn’t been renovated. So I booked that room.” He shrugged. “Finding that secret opening was a piece of cake, really. I got Will in and we were making our plans. I figured on getting Lilac Inn, the old Jane Willoughby was pretty keen on selling, but she had to wait until a certain low point before she could.” He glared at Nancy. “And then you came in and ruined that whole thing, so we had to up our game on Twin Elms.”   
“And if you had been able to buy Lilac Inn?” asked Helen in a low voice.   
Gomber glanced at her and smiled. “Well, I would have sold it to the railroad company, of course. I would have continued with my plans to buy Twin Elms with Lilac Inn as my base until I sold it.”   
“You greedy, rotten, little rat,” muttered Helen.   
Gomber shrugged. “A guy’s got to make a living somehow.”  
“I’d like to see you try that from jail,” muttered Carson.   
Gomber glanced at him. “See, that’s the thing, I’m not planning on it. Which is why I’m awfully glad these two young ladies have come along.” He grabbed Helen’s arm. She let out a scream as he pulled her up against his chest and placed the gun to her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll send them for you, once I’ve been given safe passage.”   
“You mean you’re not going to kill us?” asked Nancy. Hurry, Richard, hurry.   
“I don’t see the point. I’m sure you’ve told everyone by now what you’ve figured out.”   
“Minus the part you just told me about how you found the secret passage, yes,” replied Nancy. “And you’re not going to help Will Wharton?”   
Gomber scoffed. “He’s on his own now.” He pulled on Helen. “Let’s go.” Nancy took a step forward. “Don't even think about it, Miss Drew. I will use one of these bullets on her. So stay put for a few minutes.”   
Carson grabbed Nancy’s hand. “Listen to him, Nancy.”   
“That’s right, listen to me, I’m the one with the gun. And now I bid you adieu.” He turned to Helen. “And no screaming or whimpering from you, you hear?”   
“Y-yes sir,” mumbled Helen, trying to sound stronger than she felt.   
“Just do as he says Helen, you’ll be alright,” said Carson calmly.   
“Y-yes sir,” said Helen before Gomber dragged her out. Nancy could see her fighting the tears from gushing out. Nancy was terrified for Helen, but she was also raging mad. First he kidnapped her father and now he was using one of her friends as a hostage! But her father was right, they should do as Gomber wants, for now.   
She turned to her father. “Can you stand?”   
He glanced at her. “I think so. Won’t know until we try.”   
“Go ahead and lean on me.” Nancy held out her hand. Carson took it, and rose slowly. Nancy pulled his arm around her shoulders. “How do you feel?”   
He smiled wanly. “Worn, tired, but very happy to see you again.”  
Nancy smiled back. “I’m glad to see you too.” She sighed. “I just hope Helen will be alright.”   
“I’m sure she will be.”   
“You think we’ve waited long enough?”   
Carson scoffed. “I don’t think it really matters, I think we’ll be going slow enough as it is.”   
“True that. I’m just, I’m just worried about Helen,” said Nancy as they began to walk slowly towards the main tunnel. Tears began to fall. “Oh Dad, it’s all my fault. If I had just stayed at Lilac Inn and not come exploring, she wouldn’t be in this situation!”   
Carson patted her back. “There, there, you can’t account for everything that could happen.”   
“But I had figured he might have a gun and that he would use it!”   
“Nancy, it’s no use fretting over the past. What’s happened has happened, if you focus too much on the past or what could have been done differently, you could miss what can be done differently now and make the future better. Only look at the past to see the mistakes and learn from them, that’s it. Otherwise, it’s a hard lesson to learn, and you’ll only make things worse.”   
Nancy sighed. “I suppose, but . . .”   
“I said stay back!” Nancy and Carson paused and glanced at each other in fear.   
“Richard!” Nancy whispered.   
“Who?” asked Carson.   
“Richard Matthews!” was all Nancy said before hurrying her father around the corner. The next minute, the full scene lay before them. Chief McGinnis and Officer Patrick had their guns out, aiming at Gomber a few feet from them. Richard was holding his flashlight at him, while Rosemary stood behind him, her hands wringing with the anguish and concern mirrored on her face.   
“Please, let her go!”   
“Not until I’m out of here!” shouted Gomber. He was backing towards Lilac Inn, using Helen as a shield while still holding the gun to her head.  
McGinnis growled. “Patrick, lower your gun.” Patrick glanced at McGinnis before placing his gun back in his holster, McGinnis doing the same a second later. “There are no officers at Lilac Inn, Gomber. Leave the girl there and get out of town.”   
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”   
“Because Jane Willoughby called me,” was all McGinnis said.   
“If you’re lying she gets a bullet in her head.”   
“No!” cried out Rosemary.   
“Not unless you want one in your back.” Everyone blinked in surprise.   
“What? Who said that?” said McGinnis.   
“I’m no officer, but I’ve got every right to protect our customers. Now drop it!” Gomber winced before raising his hands and dropping his gun. Helen ran towards Rosemary, who engulfed her in a tight squeeze, the two sobbing. McGinnis and Patrick dashed forward and cuffed Gomber.   
“Oh, Nancy, Mr. Drew!” Richard went to help Nancy with Carson.   
“Patrick, take him out of here,” said McGinnis.   
“Yes sir,” said Patrick before taking Gomber towards Lilac Inn.   
“A broomstick!” roared Gomber.   
Mary Turner merely grinned, holding the broom against her shoulder. “Well of course. Next time it could be a real gun.”   
“Of all the . . .”  
“Come on, get moving,” Patrick told Gomber, pushing him forward. But he was grinning from ear to ear.   
“That was ingenious,” said McGinnis.   
“That you,” said Mary before taking Richard’s light and led the way back to Lilac Inn.   
Richard and McGinnis helped Carson get to Lilac Inn. Nancy and the Turners tended to Carson while Rosemary comforted Helen. Jane went to Twin Elms to get the others. McGinnis called for paramedics to come check on Carson and called Helen’s parents. While they waited, Nancy, and eventually Helen, related how they found the tunnel and everything they had found out regarding Gomber and his plans. They also revealed where to find the stolen items Wharton had taken, giving the jewelry to Rosemary. Carson then revealed what had happened to him.   
He had been packing his car to leave that Sunday night and went back into his room to double check that he had everything before checking out. Gomber and Wharton had forced a window open and were lying in wait for him. They knocked him out and carried him out the window. They got back to Lilac Inn in time for Gomber to get in. Wharton and Carson were well hidden in the car, otherwise Jane and the Turners would have noticed. They waited until the Turners and Jane left before Gomber helped Wharton carry Carson into Lilac Inn and into the tunnel. They had only given him enough food and water to barely survive.   
Finally, the paramedics and Helen’s parents arrived. Mary took McGinnis upstairs so he could confiscate Gomber’s things. Then Jane arrived, along with Flora, Emily, and the twins. The twins and Richard were eager to tell everyone how they caught Will Wharton.   
After Nancy and Helen left to find Carson, Richard chased Wharton up to Flora’s room. But the twins were ready. Since they had no clue where the secret door was, the twins decided to make the whole floor slick and had set up traps at three major points, namely the areas Nancy had focused on, the area near the fireplace, the window, and the closet. Wharton came out near the fireplace, so he ended up sliding across the floor, into a bed sheet, and straight into a laundry basket that rolled out of the room. Chief McGinnis, Officer Patrick, and several other cops showed up just in time to nab the ghost. The twins even got to do an official unmasking to the uproar and praise from the cops. But Richard remembered that Nancy and Helen went back in, and he, McGinnis, Patrick, and Rosemary went in. The twins and Emily stayed behind and figured out how to open the wall next to the fireplace. It took them until almost when Jane came to pick them up, but they found it. It had been hiding underneath an ornamental piece inside the fireplace. It had to be pulled up in such a way to expose it.   
“Oh, we never checked inside the fireplace before!” exclaimed Helen.   
Nancy grinned at her friends. “Good for you! We finally know where the secret openings are!”   
“All thanks to you, my dear,” said Flora, patting Nancy’s hand. “You didn’t give up. And now those two men are in jail, and you found your father.”   
“Speaking of, I think you should get him home and to bed right away,” said one of the paramedics. “A few days of rest and plenty of food should get him back to normal in no time.”   
Nancy smiled. “I’m sure Hannah will see to that. Thank you, for everything.”   
“You’re welcome,” said the paramedic before the two left.   
“Well, I guess we should go now. I’m sure Hannah will be quite glad to see you back,” said Nancy as she helped her father stand up.   
Carson chuckled. “I’m sure she will. And I’m sure you’ll help.”   
“You better believe it,” said Nancy with a soft chuckle. She waved to everyone. “Thanks for all your help. We’ll talk to you later. Bye!”   
The others waved back. “Bye!”   
“And thank you!” shouted Rosemary before the door of Lilac Inn closed behind them. Nancy helped her father get into her car. The two were soon on their way. The way home was mostly silent. The two just seemed to need a moment to process everything. It was all over, it was finally over.   
As Nancy had predicted, Hannah fussed over Carson, making sure he was fed and comfortable. Togo was glad to see him too, but he didn’t know what to do besides sitting by Carson’s feet and running around in circles. Hannah got the whole story out of them over a late, but delicious meal. Eventually, everyone calmed down enough to head to bed.   
Nancy woke up in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun poked over the horizon. She rolled over to go back to sleep when she heard the soft footfalls of someone tiptoeing down the hall. Curious, Nancy got out of her bed and tiptoed out to the hall. Whoever it had been was already going down the stairs. Nancy followed. She found her father sitting in the living, the newspaper laid out in front of him.   
“Dad? What are you doing up? You should be resting,” she said as she approached the sofa.   
Carson smiled at her. “I got plenty of sleep. I can’t exactly stay in bed all day. Besides, I can rest and take things a little more easily now. All I have to do is find the last of the plots of land the company is looking for.” He shrugged. “That is pretty easy and a little restful.” He patted her hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine now. You got me home.”   
“Yeah.” Tears began to stream down Nancy’s face. “Oh Dad, I thought I was going to lose you too. I, I don’t know if I could have handled that.”   
Carson laid down the paper and held out his arms to her. “My dear, sweet, brave girl.”   
“Oh Daddy.” Nancy ran into his arms and curled up on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. Carson wrapped his arms around and began to rock ever so slightly, thinking back on the last time he held her like this. It had happened not long after she finally realized her mother was never coming home.


	20. Around the Corner

“Woohoo! Way to go Nancy Drew!” Joe’s voice cheered over the speaker.   
Frank chuckled. “I told you you would find him, and the tunnels.”  
“And you did it all without Jim Caldwell’s poems. You rock!”   
“Speaking of, did you find the book?”   
“Oh yes,” said Nancy with a nod, “we went back in yesterday and got everything they stole from one of the side tunnels. We were able to find the mechanisms that opened the doors in the attics and the sofa seat at Twin Elms. The people who own both places know where everything is now.”   
“Aw sweet! You know, they could turn that into quite the Halloween attraction!”   
Nancy gasped. “Joseph Fenton Hardy, that is a brilliant idea!”   
“Yeah!” Joe paused. “Wait, why did you use my full name?”   
“Sorry, it just rolled off the tongue naturally.”   
“Uh-huh,” said Joe.   
“You know, she can tell Bess now,” quipped Frank.   
“No!” Joe paused. “On second thought, go ahead, as long as you tell me her middle name.”   
“Only with her permission,” said Nancy with a snicker.   
“Then don’t tell her without my permission!”   
Nancy laughed. “I’ll try not to.”   
“I don’t like the sound of that,” mumbled Joe.   
Frank chuckled. “Well, I’m glad to hear everyone has a happy ending.”   
“Same with you! I’m so glad that Ken is with his real uncle and not that criminal. And it sounds like you’re absolutely spoiling the poor boy.”   
“No we’re not,” said Joe, “we’re just showing him around Bayport, that’s all. It keeps us busy too until we get another mystery.”   
“You haven’t found one yet?”   
“No, but now it seems like we’re even, two for two.”   
“And I bet we’ll get started on our next mystery first,” quipped Joe.   
Nancy laughed. “It’s possible, but you never know, I could start on my next one before you two.”   
Joe scoffed. “Yeah right.”   
“Yeah, well, Dad’s going to have a new one here soon. Some guy’s coming tomorrow, I think it was. And that’s all he’s told us so far. He might let us help him on this one, but by the sounds of it, I think he wanted to tackle this himself. We’ll see.”   
“In the meantime, I’m hoping we’ll get a good one of our own,” said Joe. “Ooh, maybe we’ll even find our own set of underground tunnels!”   
“Don’t count on it, Joe,” said Frank.   
“What? I can still wish, can’t I?”   
“Nancy! It’s almost time!”   
“Oh, my dad’s calling me. I gotta go. But it was great to catch up! And I really do appreciate all the support.”   
“You’re welcome,” said Frank.   
“Hey, that’s what friends are for,” said Joe. “But we’d better let you go. Have a great weekend!”   
“Thanks! You too!”   
“Bye!” they chorused before hanging up the phone. Nancy smoothed out her blue and yellow party dress before turning to the mirror and double checking to make sure she looked alright. She grabbed her purse and rushed downstairs where her father and Hannah were waiting.   
“Ready?” asked Carson.   
Nancy smiled. “Yup.”   
He held out his arm. “Then let’s be off.” Giving his other arm to Hannah, the three waved goodbye to Togo and left the house. Carson got behind the wheel of the car, and they drove to Lilac Inn.   
“All hail the conquering hero!” sang Helen as soon as they walked into the dining room. The other guests in the room sent up a lively cheer. Nancy blushed and waved away the praise.   
“Oh, please, I had loads of help! And it was Emily and the twins who figured out the mechanism to Aunt Flora’s room!” A cheer went up for the Topham twins and Emily as well.   
A gentleman rose from a table, a representative for the railroad company. “And three cheers for Carson Drew for finding the last of the properties needed to build River Heights’s first train station!”   
“Hip hip hooray!” came the chant. Once the applause died down, the Drews and Hannah joined their friends. The stories of how everything went down, especially of how Will Wharton was caught, went around several times to the amusement of everyone. McGinnis came in with new information that the two crooks finally revealed in the past couple of days.   
Nathan Gomber overheard about the railroad buying property from one of it’s workers at a bar in Chicago. Thinking he could make some easy money, he looked into the property values of River Heights and which places would be the ideal locations for the railroad. When he did his research on Lilac Inn and Twin Elms, he found out about the secret tunnels, also that no one had found them, making some think they were nonexistent. That’s when he also found out about the problems Lilac Inn was having and figured now was his chance to at least get one of the properties. He checked in about a week before Emily hired Nancy to find Josiah’s will, and was about to purchase the inn had Nancy not found the will in time. Then he turned his sights on to Twin Elms. He had found the secret tunnel by then, quite by accident too, as he had pushed his clothes all the way back into the closet and found the knot of wood. That’s when he realized he could go between the houses and try to scare the sisters into selling to him. That’s where Will Wharton came in, after he and Gomber made a deal to split the money. Wharton’s property was close to Twin Elms and Lilac Inn, meaning his own property would be purchased as well. And Wharton did admit to harming Flora so Nancy could stop looking for the secret passages in Lilac Inn. He could hear the majority of their conversations when he was standing behind the secret doors. Also, that one time that he had been outside and disappeared, he had used the closest elm tree and the attic entrance to get in and out quickly.  
With that information out of the way, Nancy brought up Joe’s suggestion of using the tunnels as a Halloween feature for Lilac Inn.   
Emily clapped her hands. “That would be perfect!”   
Ida and Izzy raised their hands. “We want to be in charge of that!”   
“With the way your trap went in capturing Wharton, this should be fun!” said Officer Patrick with a huge grin.   
The twins grinned before turning to Jane and Emily and saying in unison, “May we?”   
Jane glanced at Richard. “Well, we’ll think about it. It’s only June right now, we’ve got time to plan for this.”   
“But it does sound like fun,” said Richard with a grin.   
A loud ringing interrupted the conversation.  
Jane quickly stood up. “Oh, that must be our new guests! Excuse me for a second.”   
“I’ll go with her to see if they need any help with their luggage,” said Emily as she too left the table. While they were taking care of the guests, the Turner sisters got some music going for dancing. Nancy saw Don making a beeline for her, but Richard got to her first and asked her for a dance. She agreed and they danced around the room.   
“I wanted to thank you for all your help on this case,” said Nancy as they twirled around the dance floor.   
“I’m happy to have been there when you needed me,” said Richard with a smile. “And happy this is all over. I hope you don’t mind if I asked a favor of you.”   
Nancy blinked, though she was becoming excited. “Uh, sure. What is it?”   
Richard chuckled. “What else? A mystery. I will have to double check with my mom and see if it’s OK if you take this case. It’s very personal and must be kept secret. If Mom agrees, you’ll soon learn why it must be kept a secret.”   
Nancy grinned. “If your mom says yes, I’d be happy to solve it for you.”   
“Thanks Nancy. It would really put my mind at ease.”   
“Always happy to help.” Nancy’s focus on the dance kept her from squealing and jumping up and down in excitement. Another mystery, and so soon! She was going to be ahead of the Hardys for the first time! She couldn’t wait to get started. Provided, of course, that Nadia Matthews said yes. Nancy hoped she would.   
Don then stepped in and got Nancy for the next dance.   
“What were you talking about?” he asked.   
“Business, apparently he has a mystery he would like for me to solve.” She beamed. “And I can’t wait!”   
Don chuckled. “Glad to hear it.” There was a moment’s pause. “You’re still sure about us, you know, not working out?”   
“Are you sure about us working out?” she asked.   
“No, not really. I think I’m beginning to understand why you didn’t want to go out with me.” He chuckled. “I always thought that I wasn’t good enough, or, maybe even not handsome enough to catch some girl’s eye.”   
“I’m sorry, I never meant for you to take it like that.”   
“I know that now, and I’m so sorry for taking so long for realizing it. I now know the real reason why you didn’t want to go out with me, it’s because we have different goals, goals that wouldn’t work well together. I don’t know if I can handle dealing with mysteries on a constant basis, while you will actively look them out if you go too long without it.”   
Nancy chuckled. “That is very true. And, to be honest, I really should have up and told you this all as well, but I guess I didn’t quite know how to explain it at the time. Now I do, and you couldn’t have said it better.”   
Don shrugged. “Oh well, guess we’ll just have to learn from our mistakes. But, um, may I ask that we continue to prefer each other over the others? Just until we get through prom at least.”   
The music ended and they stopped dancing. “I’ll think about it,” replied Nancy before heading back to her table.   
Emily came back and sank into her chair out of breath. “Phew.”   
“A lot of luggage?” asked Ida.   
Emily nodded. “She’s a wealthy woman, her maid’s staying with her.”   
“Whoa,” chorused the other girls.   
Helen’s phone dinged. She quickly reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. “Oh yes! Katherine says that they’ll need three rooms.” She glanced at Nancy with a grin. “And I’ve managed to convince them to stay until after Nancy’s birthday.”   
“Oh wonderful! Then she’ll get to meet Bess and George too!” said Nancy.   
“Nancy’s birthday, Bess and George returning home, and making plans for a spectacular Halloween display in the tunnels,” said Izzy.   
Ida lifted a finger. “Plus a healthy sprinkling of mysteries in between.”   
“Sounds like we’ve got a busy summer ahead of us,” said Emily.  
Helen chuckled. “It definitely does sound like it.”   
Nancy laughed. “And when Bess and George get here, they’ll get to join in all the fun!”   
“Oh Bess is not going to like that,” said Helen. She grinned. “But George definitely will.”   
Izzy laughed. “And I can’t wait to meet them!”   
“Same!” said Ida.   
Nancy grinned. “I can’t wait for you to meet them either! I’m sure you’ll all be great friends!” Though they were celebrating her triumph in this recent mystery, deep down inside she was counting down the days not only to when her friends would get back from the beach, but also to her next mystery. She hoped Nadia would say yes, that she would get to solve Richard’s mystery. Though she was right, her next mystery was just around the corner. It just wouldn’t be quite what she expected. But she would sleep well that night, knowing her friends and family were safe, and that another mystery was just on the horizon.


End file.
